


Lost in the Dark

by Kagemirai



Category: Lost Boys (1987), Lost Boys (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Blood Drinking, Bloodlust, M/M, Mind Games, Murder, Recreational Drug Use, Vampire Turning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-22
Updated: 2016-02-25
Packaged: 2018-05-15 14:42:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 14
Words: 50,246
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5789287
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kagemirai/pseuds/Kagemirai
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>David had a plan, everything set up just how he wanted it to be, so when it starts going off the rails he fixes it, brings it back on track. Of course you can expect a little resistance but that's the fun part.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So it starts off following the movie until the night Grandpa goes off to see the Widow Johnson and Michael is forced to watch Sam.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which David sees something he likes and Michael figures out what happened that night in the hotel.

-David-

 

He watched the newcomer from his place at the edge of the boardwalk. He leaned back against the railing, looking thoughtful. Star certainly seemed enamored with him. His eyes narrowed slightly as he took him in. All it took was a single moment for David to decide that he wanted the Jim Morrison lookalike. Of course he was sure that it would take some coaxing to make the teen fall, it was unlikely that he would be interested in David. If there was one thing Star was good for it was bait. Once he joined them, well, it wouldn't take much for David to make the teen his.

He grinned, looking over at Star for a moment before turning back to the young man, "He's going to be your first." He knew she wouldn't do it, hadn't been able to bring herself to feed yet, and she didn't need to know what he really wanted.

She looked between them, "Him?" She asked softly, motioning toward the brunette, hoping David had meant someone else.

He nodded in response, "Should be easy enough, guy like that'll be quick to follow you." And come right to him.

She nodded, looking over at him again, "Alright."

Now it was just a matter of waiting. He leaned against his bike, waiting patiently for his hook to catch a fish. He was pleased to find he didn't have to wait long before the pair were headed their way. David had positioned them next to the young man's bike, knowing they would have to return to it if they wanted to go anywhere.

"Star, where you going?"

She swallowed and glanced at him, holding tight to the teen's arm, "A ride."

He raised an eyebrow, looking at the young man, "With him?"

"Yeah."

David grinned, eyes focused on the man, "I'm David." He paused, motioning to the others, "Dwayne, Paul, and Marco."

"This is Michael." Star's voice was quiet, it was obvious she liked this one, too bad he wasn't for her.

"Michael." He tested the name on his tongue, finding he rather liked the way it sounded, "That your bike?" His head jerked toward, what he knew was, Michael's bike.

"Yeah."

David's smile grew as he started his bike, "Know where Hudson's Bluff is?"

Michael looked uneasy, "I can't beat your bike."

His smiled turned feral, "You don't have to beat me, Michael, just keep up." His gaze turned to Star, “Let’s go.” She shook her head and David glared at her, “Now, Star.”

She climbed on behind him, giving an almost pleading look toward Michael but he wasn’t paying attention, eyes focused on David, who revved his engine. David met his eyes, happy to have his full and undivided attention. David and the boys let out a whoop as Michael gunned his bike, taking off after them. The kid had guts and a total lack of fear that made the vampire lick his lips, he was perfect. Even though his bike wasn’t as good as theirs he held his own, keeping up with David. The cliff was coming up soon and he could tell that Michael knew it, the teen laying down his bike, barely avoiding toppling over the edge. It would have been such a pity to lose him like that, David would have been tempted to save him from that long fall. Blood pounded through the teen’s body, his heart racing as David dismounted his bike, the vampire couldn’t wait to taste him, he was going to make sure Michael was his. The punch to the face startled him slightly but he waved his boys off.

“Come on, just you.” Michael growled and wasn’t that a sound that David wanted to hear again.

The kid could throw a punch, there was no denying that, it would make possessing him that much more rewarding in the end, “How far you willing to go, Michael?” He smiled at him, knowing he took him off guard with his question, “Let’s go.” He knew Michael wouldn’t be able to resist following them as he led the way to their home. His arms spreading wide as he stepped through a crack in the rocks, turning to watch Michael’s face as he took everything in, “Welcome to the hottest hotel in Santa Carla! Back in 1906 when the big one hit, the ground opened up and this place took a header into the crack.”

He spotted Star out of the corner of his eye, she was going to be a problem, he could already feel it and when she opened her mouth he was proved right, “Michael, let’s go.”

“No,” his voice was firm as he looked at Michael, “stick around.”

“We were going to get something to eat…” He trailed off, his throat working as he swallowed.

“Marko, food.” He motioned toward the curly haired blonde vampire, “Ask and ye shall receive.” He plopped down in his usual seat, the old wheelchair practically his throne, “How about we start with a little…appetizer.” The joint was in his hand and lit before Michael could reply, the brunette making his way over to the leader of the pack, taking the joint when David held it out for him, “We’re going to have fun tonight, Michael.” His smile grew as Michael took a hit, watching as his eyes closed. He looked at Star, “A lot of fun.” She looked worried and David’s smile widened.

 

-Michael-

 

He looked away from the carton of Chinese food, first maggots, now worms, what was in that joint David gave him? Slowly he turned back to face the bleach blonde man, watching as he took a thick bottle from Marko, holding it out to him. He scowled slightly but David raised an eyebrow, taking a drink before holding it out again. Slowly, he wrapped his hand around the neck, taking it from him.

“Drink, join us.”

The other boys looked on, excitement and welcome in their eyes, as though this was a rite of passage they all had to go through. As he brought it to his lips Star spoke, “Don’t, you don’t have to.” He glanced over at her, “It’s blood.”

He let out a snort, like he was going to fall for that, “Right, blood.” He tipped the bottle back.

The wine was warm as it slid down his throat and he took another drink, a small trickle escaping the corner of his lips, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he swallowed it down, trying to catch it all as his eyes closed and the others cheered. The rest of the night passed in a blur, he could remember Paul clapping him on the shoulder, proclaiming that he was one of them now. He also remembered someone, maybe Marko or was it Paul, piercing his ear. He woke up the next day in his own bed with sunlight streaming through the blinds thanks to his brother. His head throbbed as he rolled over, squeezing his eyes shut.

“Go away, Sam.” He grumbled, wondering how exactly he made it home last night only to come up with nothing.

“It’s after one, come on, get up. You’re supposed to watch and entertain me.”

He growled, pulling the blankets over his head, “Entertain yourself, you’re not a baby.”

Sam left but didn’t bother closing the blinds. Michael’s fingers reached out from under the blankets, fumbling around his nightstand for his sunglasses. His fingers finally wrapping around them, he slid them on and let out a soft groan, the day was not starting out very well. It was at least an hour before he managed to crawl out of bed, everything ached and there was a huge hole in his memory after he drank from that bottle. Somehow, he made it downstairs, plopping down at the table as he watched his brother root around in the fridge.

Sam jumped when he turned around and saw Michael sitting there, “You look wasted, what did you do last night?”

A soft grumble escaped his lips, “I don’t remember much after the Chinese food that looked like maggots and worms.” He tipped his head back, why was he so tired?

His brother closed the fridge, his nose crinkling in disgust at the talk of maggots and worms, “So, what’re you doing today? Wanna go to the comic book store?”

Michael slowly brought his head back up and got to his feet, “No.”

What he really wanted to do was go back to the sunken hotel and he wasn’t even sure why, especially after what happened the previous night. What he really didn’t want to do though was go outside while the sun was still up, his eyes and head hurt bad enough that just thinking about going out made his head throb even more. Once the sun was gone he’d head out, try to find out what had happened the night before, he touched his ear and who had pierced his ear for him.

Coming into the sunken hotel felt like coming home and spotting David lounging in his chair made him relax even further. He looked around for Star but couldn’t see her anywhere, only David was in sight. The bleach blonde smiled at him, not seeming surprised at all to see him, almost as though he expected Michael to show up at some point.

“Michael! Welcome back, I was wondering when you’d be gracing us with your presence.”

The young man narrowed his eyes suspiciously, “You don’t seem surprised to see me.”

“Of course I’m not, you’re one of us now, knew you couldn’t stay away.”

 

-David-

 

Of course he had known Michael would come back, what kind of vampire would he be if he didn’t know where his fledgling was and what his plans were? Tonight was going to be better than the night before, he had plans, the next step in the initiation. He knew Michael was confused, knew his head was a mess, but he also knew that once night had fallen Michael had already started feeling better, but the human wanted answers and who was he to deny him?

“Have great plans tonight.” He couldn’t let on that he knew exactly what Michael was thinking.

“Great, I have questions.” Michael cut him off and David scowled, “What happened last night?”

He raised an eyebrow, “Last night? Damn, Michael, I didn’t think you got that messed up. Just some wine and weed and then you got Paul to pierce your ear.” Of course he wouldn’t tell him that the piercing hadn’t been his idea at all, it had been David’s, he was one of them now after all, just another rite of passage. He paused for a moment, looking him over, “You feelin’ alright?” He asked, getting to his feet and walking over to him.

“I don’t know.” He scowled, looking at the vampire as he stopped in front of him, “I had a bad hangover today but now I feel fine, they don’t just go away like that.”

David clapped a hand on his shoulder, “Don’t worry so much, as soon as the boys get up we’ll head out, have some fun.” He smiled, “Gotta make sure we get there on time.”

“Where?” He had relaxed under David’s hand making the vampire’s smile grow.

“You’ll see, don’t wanna spoil the surprise.” There was a whoop from the back of the hotel, “Well, speak of the devil.” He chuckled, the boys coming out to join them, “Let’s get going boys.” He headed for the exit, expecting them all to follow.

Michael scowled, “Where’s Star?”

David froze midstep, turning his head to look back at him, “Out, it’s a boys only night.” He stated, Michael didn’t need to be thinking of her, she didn’t matter, she wasn’t going to be part of his world anymore if he had anything to say about it, and he did. He kept walking, “Let’s go, Michael.”

The trip to the train tracks wasn’t that long but Michael seemed hesitant, he was probably still hung up on Star, well, what he had planned would quickly get his mind off her. David dismounted and the others followed suit, “Perfect time.” He grinned as he approached the trestle, looking down into the foggy depths below.

“What’s going on?”

David grinned, facing them, “What’s goin’ on, Marko?”

“I dunno. What’s goin’ on, Paul?”

“Who wants to know?”

David laughed, “Michael wants to know!” The others laughed as Michael scowled before they dropped to hang beneath the tracks. David’s eyes were locked on Michael, “Now you, Michael.” When Michael opened his mouth to speak David cut him off, “Do it, now!” That got his attention and he was quick to comply, slowly swinging out over the gorge with the other boys. David hopped down, catching the rail so he was facing their new addition. He couldn’t wait to see the look on his face and he didn’t have to wait long. The trestle began to rumble and a look of fear crossed Michael’s face. The vampire only smiled, “Hang on!” He kept his eyes locked on the brunette’s, even as Paul dropped with a whoop, the others following soon after, one after another dropping into the fog, “Let go, Michael!” He couldn’t wait to see him fly, “Do it!” He let one hand drop, “Do it, Michael!” He shouted, ordered, before letting go. Flying was always fun, that feeling of weightlessness, now they just had to get Michael to let go.

“Come on, Michael! Let go!” Paul shouted up at him.

“It’s safe! Don’t be a baby!” Marko’s voice joined in.

David whistled, calling for him, “Drop, Michael!” Finally he did and David grinned, watching as he floated for a moment, caught a second of flight, before dropping. The vampire leader caught him, a smile plastered on his face, “Almost.”

He had been so close, would catch on quick once he really joined them. He looked down at his face, Michael had passed out on the way down, too much exertion, it was always a shock to the human body to suddenly be flying. Their newest addition was coming along nicely, a few more nights and he might even be ready for the final step, he just had to keep Star away from him in the meantime.

 

-Michael-

 

He woke up to Sam’s voice in his ear, yelling something about their mom. He scowled, opening his eyes slightly, “What about mom?”

“She’s on the phone.”

His brother was glaring at him, he knew it even if he couldn’t see it, the room was far too bright. His fingers fumbled for his sunglasses before taking the phone, “Hello?”

“Are you still in bed?”

He sat up with a quiet grumble, “I’m up.”

“I want you to stay home tonight and watch your brother.”

He scowled, had planned to go back to the hotel again, he just couldn’t bring himself to stay away and honestly it didn’t bother him as much as it probably should, “Let Grandpa watch him, the only time I get to myself is at night, I have to watch him all day.”

“Grandpa has his own plans.” Her voice was firm, he sighed, she brought the ‘mom voice’ out, “Michael, I want you to do this. You come home late, sleep all day, and Sam is left alone. You get to do exactly what you want, now tonight you’re going to do what I want for a change.” For a moment he felt a little twinge of guilt, “Okay?”

Maybe that guilt is why he responded the way he did or maybe he just didn’t want to argue, “Okay.” Either way he was stuck now. When he finally managed to head downstairs he was still so tired and even with his sunglasses on the sun was a little too bright, thankfully it was setting soon. Grandpa was dressed up, splashing, was that Windex, on his neck, “Big date?” His voice was rough from exhaustion, maybe he was getting sick.

“Just dropping off some of my handiwork to the Widow Johnson.” He was fixing his tie as he spoke.

Michael sneered, “Oh, yeah? What’d you stuff for her? Mr. Johnson?” Okay, so maybe it was a little mean but he was tired and grumpy.

Grandpa didn’t look too happy with his grandson as he opened the door, “See you later, boys.”

“That wasn’t funny.” Sam glared at him before heading for the fridge, “You need to eat something.”

He let out a snort, sitting down at the table, “Don’t bother.” The sun was slowly going down and each moment Michael felt a little less tired and a little more like himself.

“Why are you such an dick tonight?”

“Piss off.” He grumbled, leaning back in the chair.

The sound of someone knocking on the door made him jump, his gaze turning to see who was there but Sam beat him to it, throwing open the door. Star was standing there, looking nervous, “Hey, Michael, it’s your girlfriend.” Sam stepped back as Michael got to his feet, heading quickly for the door.

“Star.” Something felt wrong about this but he motioned her in, “What’re you doing here?”

She looked between the two of them nervously, “I-I need to talk to you.”

He scowled, closing the door, “What?”

She glanced at Sam, “Alone.”

“Hell no, lady, whatever you wanna say to him I’m going to stick around for.”

Michael glared at him, “Sam.” His voice carried a note of warning but Sam just crossed his arms over his chest and held his ground, “Sam, go.” His voice came out rough followed by a low growl. He scowled slightly at Sam’s quickly retreating back, had he really just growled? He took his seat at the table, “Sit down and talk to me.”

She sat across from him, hands clutched in her lap, “You need to stay away from David.” Her voice came out soft, worried.

He scowled, “Why?” Why would he want to do that? Sure, he was a little odd, very demanding, but he had a good time with the boys.

“He’s no good, he’s going to ruin your life.” She bit her lip slightly, “Michael, he’ll kill you.”

He couldn’t help the laugh that escaped his lips, something inside him knew David wouldn’t kill him, at least didn’t want to kill him, “Really? You think he’s going to kill me?” He laughed again, the sun was disappearing behind the horizon now, “He’s not going to kill me.” He sounded sure of himself.

She looked confused, “You don’t know him like I do, Michael, he’ll be the death of you.” She reached across the table, taking his hands, begging him to understand, “Trust me, please, I don’t want to see you do something you don’t want to.”

“If I don’t want to do something I’m not going to do it.” He stated, shaking his head, “Doesn’t matter what David or anyone else says, I’m my own man.”

She gave him a weak smile, “I know you believe that and I hope it’s true.” Slowly she got to her feet, moving to his side of the table before bending forward and kissing him softly. A flash of light outside made her freeze, their lips still touching, “I have to go.” She pulled back, looking out the window, it was dark now, “Please Michael, think about what I said.”

Star was out the door before he had a chance to respond. Slowly he shook his head, maybe Sam was right, maybe he needed something to eat. As he headed for the fridge a wave of pain passed through him, doubling him over. A gasp escaped his lips, he was starving.

 

-David-

 

Star had gone to see what didn’t belong to her, Michael was his and one wrong word could ruin everything. He had felt Star leave and knew her intentions but couldn’t do anything about it, not with the sun out, so he was forced to wait. The moment night hit he had left the others and gone to Michael’s, flashing the light in the window, making his presence known so Star would leave. Tonight was a big night for Michael, hunger pains were likely to start and he would no doubt be confused at what was happening. Things would be changing rapidly inside him, shifting and moving to adapt to his new existence. He might even cut his teeth tonight, that was always fun. Now that Star was out of the house he could get Michael to come out to him, or maybe even get himself an invite to take care of his fledgling.

“Michael.” He let his voice carry, a low whisper, but one his boy would hear. He headed for the door, “Michael, come on, open up.” He peaked in a window, spotting the brunette doubled over, the poor baby, he rolled his eyes, “Michael, Michael.” He chanted softly, drawing his attention to the door.

To the young man’s credit he managed to get to his feet and open the door, “David…” He trailed off, swallowing hard as he came face to face with the man Star had warned him to stay away from.

“Gonna invite me in?” He asked, “You don’t look so hot, can make you somethin’ to eat.”

He swallowed hard, wrapping an arm around his burning stomach, “Come in, David.”

The vampire stepped inside, invites were always the best. He wrapped an arm around Michael’s shoulders, guiding him to a chair and making him sit down, “Stay put, I’ll grab you something to drink.”

He opened the fridge, looking for something he could hide his blood in, it would help with the burning pain and push him a little further along, closer to the end game. Kool Aid, cherry no less, he loved it when things fell perfectly in place. He pulled out a glass and let himself shift, cutting into his wrist and letting some of his blood fall into the glass, thick and red, before licking the wound to close it. Carefully he mixed the blood and Kool Aid, making sure there were no signs he had doctored the drink at all. Once he was satisfied he brought it to Michael, setting it in front of him.

“Drink up, I’ll see if I can’t scrounge up some crackers or something.”

It took a minute for Michael to sit up straight and wrap a shaking hand around the glass. He watched him take a sip out of the corner of his eye, watched as the shaking subsided and he took a bigger drink, his throat working to swallow the concoction as quickly as possible. A smile spread across his lips, there was a little more pain coming for his boy tonight, his fangs would probably come in, especially after that last drink, but it would pass pretty quick.

“More.” Michael’s voice was rough, he was reduced to one word sentences, but David didn’t care, he took the glass and refilled it, watching as Michael drank it down, slower than the previous one at least.

About halfway through he put the glass down, a scowl crossing his face as he sniffed the air. David narrowed his eyes slightly, tipping his head back slightly, someone else was here and Michael was still hungry but he wasn’t quite ready for his first kill yet, David would have to make sure that his fledgling behaved himself.

“Michael, drink up.” He ordered, watching as he was immediately obeyed, “You’ll feel better, just relax, you’re all good, yeah?” When he received a nod in reply he sat down in the chair Star had recently occupied, “Better?” He questioned, watching him nod and put the glass down, “Good.”

Michael closed his eyes for a moment, licking his lips, “Star came to see me.” He said softly.

Of course David wanted to know what she had said. He wasn’t going to force him to tell but wasn’t about to complain if he decided to spill, “She was?”

He nodded, opening his eyes again, looking much calmer, sated, “Yeah, said you were going to kill me.” He smiled, chuckling softly.

David tossed his head back and laughed, “I’m going to kill you? That’s rich. No, I’m not gonna kill you, Michael.” He paused, “You should get some sleep, you look like shit.” The blood would work through him over night, he’d sleep most of the day, and then he’d come back to the hotel to spend the night with them, one step closer to the end.

Michael nodded, “Thanks, David.” He yawned, “I’m so tired, I must be getting sick.”

The vampire patted him on the back, “You’ll feel better tomorrow I bet, go, sleep.” He headed out the door and back to his bike, grinning like a mad man, things were going smoothly, even with Star’s stupidity, he was going to have to deal with her sooner rather than later.

 

-Sam-

 

He had stayed in the other room while Star was there, listening in, was going to come back in when Michael hit the ground but then there was a knock at the door and he ducked back into the other room. Someone was calling Michael’s name, asking him to open the door. He wasn’t sure how his brother managed to do it but he got to the door and let in that blonde biker from the boardwalk. He could hear them talking, well, he could hear the biker talking, before going to the fridge. Slowly he peaked around the corner, watching as the blonde bit his wrist and, wait, was that blood? Was he pouring blood into that cup for his brother? Mixing Kool Aid and blood? What the hell? He swallowed hard, covering his mouth and ducking back around the corner, the biker was a shit sucking blood drinker. He had to be seeing things, vampires weren’t real, right? Michael was drinking noisily before demanding more. He had to make sure what he was seeing was real, peeking around the corner as David fixed up another blood/Kool Aid mixture. What was he going to do? His own brother was one of them, or at least was becoming one of them. He needed to go see those brothers in the comic book shop, they had given him that vampire comic with their number on the back, maybe they knew something. A sigh of relief escaped his lips when the vampire left and his brother went upstairs to rest, the vamp had been right, his brother did look like shit. He took a deep breath, it was up to him to save his brother.

 

-David-

 

Star was a menace that needed to be dealt with, tonight. Dwayne mentally let him know that she had come back to the hotel as he was leaving Michael’s. His response? Keep her there. He was going to end this once and for all. She just wasn’t fitting in, wanted Michael to be her knight in shining armor, ha! Michael was his, not hers, even those brief moments where she held his full attention he still belong to David. He pushed his bike harder, he should just kill her and be done with it. When he walked inside Dwayne was standing in front of Star, staring down at her with his arms crossed over his chest. She was staring at the ground from her perch on the edge of the bed, her fingers gripping at it.

“I’m surprised you came back here, Star.” David stated, moving to stand beside his second in command, “Michael told me you went to see him, it’s not like I didn’t know, of course he also shared what you told him.” He smirked as she looked up, surprised, “Yeah, bet you didn’t think he’d tell me that you said I was going to kill him, did you? Think I wouldn’t find out?” His eyes narrowed and his smile fell, “He’s mine.” His voice came out as a low growl, “Not yours, he’s not going to be some white knight and save you from the big, bad, vampire. No, he’s going to join us and maybe, just maybe, I’ll have you be his first meal.”

She swallowed hard, “B-But you wanted him to be my first.” Dark eyes met ice blue and he smiled again.

“Oh, Star, if I told you I wanted him for my own would you have gone out and gotten him for me?” She nodded vigorously, trying to show him that she would do whatever he wanted. He laid a hand on her cheek gently, “Shhh, poor, poor, Star.” She held back a sob, closing her eyes, “I can’t let you see him after what you did tonight.” A soft cry escaped her lips as he grasped her chin in an unforgiving grip, her eyes snapping back open to look into his, “I can’t let you try to sink your hooks into him. He won’t save you, he won’t kill me to save you.”

She whimpered softly, “He won’t kill for you, he won’t turn.”

His smile was cruel as he gave her a little shake, “Oh, I think he will, he was more than happy to drink from me tonight.” She didn’t need to know he had tricked him into it. She tried to shake her head but he held her fast, “Got me a nice little invite to his house, fed him, lessened those hunger pains just a little bit. Won’t take much to push him over the edge.” He let her go, her head hanging limply as she cried softly, “Don’t worry, Star, I’ll take good care of him.” He sneered, looking at Dwayne before touching his mind and speaking only to him, ‘Don’t let her out of your sight, we’ll have to think of something to do with her during the day.’ Dwayne nodded and David turned back to the girl, “Don’t even think about going anywhere or Dwayne will rip your throat out.” He stated before turning away and going to find Paul and Marko.

 

-Michael-

 

It was dusk when he finally opened his eyes. Something didn’t feel quite right and something smelled absolutely horrible. He remembered Star coming to see him, listening to her wild stories about David wanting to kill him, and then the arrival of David himself. He remembered the pain, feeling like he hadn’t eaten in days, only to have David give him something to drink and feeling a million times better. For once Sam hadn’t come and woken him up, which was strange, but there was something else that just wasn’t right. Slowly he got out of bed, rubbing his eyes, it was dark enough they didn’t hurt at least and he didn’t have a headache. The first thing he decided was that he needed a shower, the second was to find out where that horrible smell was coming from. One hot shower later and a set of fresh clothes made him ready to find out where that smell was coming from. Tipping his head back slightly he took a deep breath, Sam’s room.

“Sam! What’re you doing?” He pushed his door open, eyes going wide as he saw strings of garlic hung up around his room, “What the hell?”

Sam glared at him from his bed, “You stay out there! I know what you are and you’re not going to bite me!”

He scowled, “What’re you talking about? Why would I bite you?”

“You’re a shit sucking vampire that’s why!” He shouted, keeping perched on his bed.

“Sam, I’m going to go down to the boardwalk and find mom and she’s gonna get you some help, okay? I think you’ve totally lost it.” He backed away slowly, holding his hands up in a placating gesture.

“No! I’m not crazy, Mike! I saw that biker give you his blood last night! It was mixed in with the Kool Aid!” He jumped off the bed, rushing to the door, seeming to forget about the whole, my brother is a vampire, thing.

Michael raised an eyebrow, “You can’t be serious.”

“I swear! I went and saw those guys at the comic book store, they said if you haven’t had your first kill you can be turned back if we find the head vampire and stake him! You just have to not kill anyone.”

“I hadn’t planned on killing anyone, you sure you’re okay?”

Sam nodded vigorously, “Just, don’t bite me, okay?”

He shook his head, “I’m gonna go out, see if I can find Star, find out what’s going on. You’ll be okay here, right?”

“Yeah.”

“And take the garlic down, it’s gross.” He turned and headed for the door. His mind was spinning, did David really give him his blood? Was he a vampire? The sun hadn’t set quite yet when he started his bike, was just sinking below the horizon. He gunned his bike, he needed answers and he wasn’t sure if he’d get them from David. He only hoped that Star was there. His bike was barely stopped when he got off and headed into the sunken hotel, “Star!” He shouted, looking around, the sun had barely set when he got there. The hotel was silent making him scowl, “Star!” His voice echoed through the room.

“Star isn’t here,” David stepped out from a crack in the wall, “but I am.” His voice caught in his throat as he was pinned by that icy gaze, “So, Michael, why’re you here? Not to hang out it seems, not tonight, since you’re looking for Star and not us.” He walked forward slowly and for a moment Michael felt like he was being hunted.

He steeled himself, holding firm as he watched David come closer, “Sam saw what you put in my drink last night.” He said before cringing, if David really was a vampire he wouldn’t be too happy with his brother.

Blue eyes narrowed, “Oh? What’d he say I put in your Kool Aid?” He was almost toe to toe with him now.

“Blood.” His voice came out as a strained whisper.

David’s smile was bordering on cruel, “And if it was?” His fingers slid down his face, his throat, to wrap around the back of his neck, “What if you drank blood?”

He couldn’t move as those fingers tightened slightly, “Why?” He was scared of that look in his eyes, it was hungry, as if he could consume him with only a gaze.

“Why?” He chuckled softly, “Because you’re mine.” He stated it as fact, as if there was no possible way to refute it, “You’re one of us now Michael.” He paused, “I was going to wait but since your brother spoiled everything it’s going to have to be tonight.”

He wasn’t sure he wanted to know what was going to happen and shook his head, “W-What?”

David leaned forward, pressing his lips to his ear, “Tonight we finish this, one way or another.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which David and the boys push Michael off the deep end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phase one of David's plan finally works out, now onto the next step. Thank you so much to those have left comments and kudos! I really appreciate it, keep letting me know what you think!

-David-

 

That little brat of a brother had spoiled everything. David had planned it all out, knew exactly how things were going to go, and Michael would have had a few more days to adjust, to adapt, for the change to take him a little further along, make the kill easier. Now, now things had to be moved up, if they didn’t finish this now he knew Sam would try to ruin everything. He would try to come after David, try to save his brother, and he just couldn’t let that happen. Michael was his and he would be damned if some little shit was going to take him away.

Michael tried to jerk out of his grasp while he was distracted but he tightened his grip, wringing a hiss from his lips before pinning him with his gaze, “There’s no way out of this, Michael.”

‘Boys, it’s time.’ He grinned at Michael, watching as he cringed, hearing the boys come out from wherever they had been hiding, “Don’t worry, Michael, when it’s done you’ll wonder why you even resisted.” He shifted his grip slightly, pulling him outside by the scruff of his neck.

“I bet Michael’s gonna pick the hard way!” Paul grinned, shoving Marko ahead of him.

Marko let out a snort, “Easy, once he smells it, no way will he make David do the hard way.”

Michael squirmed in his grasp but he didn’t let go, “What’s the hard way?” There was fear in his voice but David knew it wouldn’t be there long.

“What’s the hard way, Paul?” David grinned, heading for the beach, they couldn’t take their bikes, Michael would take off the first chance he got.

“It’s messy, gotta get the blood in ya somehow.” He smiled widely, “Goes beyond a little temptation, I think you’re gonna make us go all the way, Mikey!” He darted ahead of David, turning to face them, “It’s gonna hurt, a lot.”

David glared at him, of course it was gonna hurt, Michael was still changing and the kill would finish it, give him the multiple days worth of changes left and shove them all into one moment, “I knew before you got here that you were confused, but looking for Star? I thought you suddenly believed her, that I was going to kill you, so imagine my surprise to find out your brother saw us last night. I wanted to give you a few more nights but now, well, you can thank little Sammy for this.”

When they got to the beach and watched the surf nazi’s circle around a fire Michael’s struggles began anew, “Let go.” He growled, looking over at the rival gang. He was about to shout at them to run when David clapped a hand over his mouth.

“Now, now, we can’t have any of that. Marko, pick one out just for Michael.” He grinned, shifting his grip so Michael was pressed against his chest, “The rest of you, dig in.”

The boys were off like a shot, Marko grabbing one and hitting him over the head, tossing him at David’s feet before grabbing another and driving fangs into his throat. David chuckled softly in his ear, pulling off a glove with his teeth before wrapping it around his neck, forcing him to tip his head, bare his throat. Michael smelled so very good, he ran his fangs across his skin, splitting the skin slightly before lapping it up, he tasted even better. The halfling’s eyes were wide as he watched his future brothers tear into their victims, he wanted to look away but was held firmly in place.

“So, Michael, the easy way or the hard way?” Teeth tugged at his earring, “Up to you.” Michael’s eyes were golden, his fangs out, fingers clawed as he gasped for breath, David could feel the fight in him, the struggle to look away, “Guess it’s going to be the hard way.” The boys had finished, were checking the bodies for anything they might want to keep, “Dwayne.” All it took was for him to say his name and the dark haired vampire was there, “Hold our boy here, got to get him in the mood.”

“Don’t do this.” His voice came out soft, a low hiss from between his fangs.

“Don’t worry, brother, everything will be fine.” Dwayne could soothe the most difficult humans and it had a similar affect on Michael, the halfling relaxed in his arms.

David knelt beside the unconscious man at their feet, pulling his other glove off and lifting him slightly, making his head loll to the side. Slowly, he drew a claw over his throat, watching the skin split and blood well up. His claws retracted and his fingers swiped through the blood, capturing it on his fingers. He stood, smiling at his chosen, bloody fingers sliding towards his lips. Michael turned his head and he lashed out, grasping his chin and turning it back.

Michael growled, “I’ll bite them.” He hissed lowly.

The boys laughed, “That would make this so much easier.” David chuckled, sliding blood slick fingers across tightly closed lips.

Michael’s nostrils flared, smelling the blood smeared across his lips. He kept his lips tightly closed, golden eyes wide with need and fear. David could see the war going on as he ran his fingers down his cheek, leaving a trail of red behind. The other boys were watching intently, blood smeared across their faces, their hands. This wasn’t how David wanted his first kill to be but he was cracking, he just needed a little push. Fresh blood was gathered as he wrapped his fingers in brunette curls before pulling his head to the side, leaning forward and sinking fangs into his throat. A cry escaped Michael’s lips and it wasn’t just from pain. David knew there was an underlying pleasure to it and now that his lips were parted David slid bloody fingers past them, settling them on his tongue, forcing him to taste that which he most desired, what he needed.

 

-Michael-

 

He struggled in Dwayne’s grasp, he didn’t want this, didn’t want to kill. Sam had warned him, if he drank, if he gave in and killed, there would be no going back. The vampire at his back seemed completely unaffected by his struggles, keeping him firmly in hand as David coated his fingers in blood, painted his lips with it. He couldn’t let them win but the smell, it was everything he had ever wanted wrapped up in one. He wanted to lap up the blood on his lips, wanted to taste it, wanted more, but he stayed strong, maybe they would get tired of him fighting and just kill him or let him go. David’s fingers spread blood across his cheek, a cool tongue following to capture it. He shuddered, that shouldn’t feel good. He whimpered softly, lips still firmly closed as he stared into David’s golden eyes. There was something there, some thought that he knew would spell disaster and he squirmed again, he had to get free. David bent to re-coat his fingers before winding his other hand into his hair, pulling his head to the side. What was he doing? He let out a muffled yell, if he opened his lips he knew he was going to taste it. Those fangs slid into his throat and he finally let out a cry as a sharp pain followed by pleasure lanced through him. A moment later he felt fingers slide past his lips and blood touch his tongue. The second his lips parted he knew he had lost and now that the blood was on his tongue he couldn’t get enough. The taste was all consuming as he chased every last drop he could get off those fingers. A whimper escaped his lips as they were pulled free, his tongue chasing them, he stopped when he tasted the blood on his lips, lapping that up instead. Teeth were still in his throat, blood sliding around them, he could feel it trickle across his skin before being captured by a tongue. The boys let out a cheer as he licked his lips clean before letting out a whine for more. Slowly Da-, no, his master’s teeth slid free and his tongue bathed the wounds, not letting a single drop escape.

“Want more, Michael?” Dwayne, that was Dwayne’s voice in his ear.

He nodded, a low whine escaping his throat. He was pressed to the sand, the fingers in his hair forcing his head to the throat of the surf nazi at their feet, “Dig in, Mikey.” His master’s voice hissed in his ear, “Finish it, be one of us.”

His fangs drove into the unprotected throat and Dwayne and his master let him go, looking down at him as he began to drink. His throat worked quickly, he was so hungry, how could he have fought this? A soft growl rumbled in his chest as he swallowed it down. The sound of his brothers’ cheers was like music as he drank, his eyes closing as he felt a single tear run down his cheek. Letting go was a release, he felt like something was slowly being lifted off his shoulders as he drained the man he had pinned to the sand.

Finally he pulled back, gasping, blood slicked his chin, his throat, and he tipped his head back, looking up at the faces of his brothers as they surrounded him. His gaze meeting his master’s, staring into his eyes. David squatted down, taking his face in his hands before licking up his throat, chasing the spilled blood, cleaning him up. Fingers ran through his hair as he swayed slightly, the hunger was sated and he felt amazing.

“Michael,” he blinked up at the bleach blonde, trying to focus but he was finding it difficult to. Light slaps to the cheeks brought him back a little but it was hard, “gotta get you back to the hotel, yeah? Gonna get a little rough from here.” David picked him up easily, he turned to the others, “Clean up.” Michael rested his head on the closest leather clad shoulder, closing his eyes, the world was moving too fast, “Easy.” He was blessedly still, laid down on something soft, “Open your eyes.” Slowly he opened them, looking up, “Good boy, the rest of night is gonna suck for you.” David grinned, patting his cheek, “Just scream if you need anything.”

He blinked, tipping his head to the side to watch as the vampire settled into his chair. Why was the night going to suck? A soft groan escaped his lips, his head was starting to hurt and his eyes, in fact his whole body began to ache. He rolled onto his side, curling into a ball, arms wrapped around his stomach. Teeth sank into his lip as he tried to hold back whimpers of pain, this was worse than the hunger from the previous night and he had a feeling that there wasn’t anything that could relieve the burn that scorched through his body. The night passed in a haze of pain, every now and then the boys would be there, soothing him and he thought he saw Star once but he wasn’t sure. Finally morning came and he was blanketed in blessed darkness.

 

-David-

 

This whole thing could have been avoided if Star hadn’t visited Michael and if Michael hadn’t stayed home that night. If he had come to the hotel, the hunger could have been taken care of and Michael would have been none the wiser but instead, David was forced to go to him. He should have paid more attention to where the little brother was, maybe if he had, Michael wouldn’t be whining in pain on the canopied bed that Star usually used. Star. Now there was another issue. He still wasn’t sure what he was going to do with her. She was useful, she had brought him Michael after all, but she was still only half turned and in all honesty he didn’t want to share. She would try to take Michael from him, even though he was now fully turned it didn’t change how she felt and as a newly turned vampire he was susceptible to seduction. He tapped his fingers on his leg, looking away from his chosen for the moment. Speaking of Star, he caught a glimpse of her peeking around a corner, so she finally got out of the maze. The hotel was surprisingly intact for falling into a giant crack, in order to keep her out of the way for the day while they slept they had stashed her way in the back. The damage that had been done turned the back reaches into a giant maze, there was no real straight forward way back to the lobby. He knew she’d make it back eventually and now that Michael was in the last stages of his transition, well, he didn’t have to worry for the moment. He was too out of it for her to get through to him.

“Star.” He grinned at her as she turned, startled, “Didn’t think I’d see you there? Why don’t you come out, take a look at what I brought home.” It was an order, not a question.

Slowly she came out, “What?” She looked around, spotting the other boys around the bed.

“Go ahead, take a look.”

She moved quickly, pushing past Dwayne and Paul, the three boys by the bed laughed at her as she fell to her knees by the edge, her fingers shaking as she reached out and pushed sweaty brunette curls back from Michael’s face, “What did you do?”

David stood, strolling over to stand behind her, “He made his first kill tonight, I’m afraid I had to bump the time line up a little due to your visit last night.”

She spun to look up at him, “What?”

He chuckled, “Didn’t stutter, did I? After you ran off I went and helped him through his little hunger pains but his brother, well, he saw me and figured it out. You know, Michael came here looking for you, figured you’d give him answers, he found me instead.”

“Michael,” she whispered, “it’s okay, I’m here.” Her fingers continued to comb through his hair.

“He can’t really hear you right now, his body’s dying, kind of hurts a little, distracting.” He crossed his arms over his chest, chuckling as the man on the bed jerked away from her, a soft keen escaping his lips. David knew exactly what that sound was, he wanted his brothers, wanted his sire, well, who was he to deny his fledgling? He crawled onto the bed with him, wrapping his arms around him, “Pile on boys.” He chuckled, eyes locked on Star’s as he settled in front of him, letting Michael curl into his chest and hold onto him, “Mikey knows what he needs.” A huffed growl sounded against his throat followed by soft snuffling as their new member settled in against him.

“Don’t you touch him.” She growled, so, there was a little spunk in her. She looked at the others, “Don’t you dare.”

Paul was the first one on the bed, laying over Michael’s legs. Dwayne curled around the turning man’s back while Marko laid by his head, fingers taking Star’s place of petting him. Dwayne was whispering softly in his ear, mostly nonsense to help calm him, ease him through the rest of his change. They’d sleep here for the day, a little more vulnerable but Michael wasn’t in any state to join them in their usual roost.

“Sorry, Star, but he’s ours now.” Paul laughed, grinning at her, petting Michael’s thigh, “You should have seen him when he finally chowed down, he’s gonna be perfect with a little training.”

She shook her head, getting to her feet, “He’s not a killer.” She whispered and David rolled his eyes.

“Of course he is, made his first kill.” David paused, “He always had a little killer in him, knew it when I first saw him, just took some coaxing to draw it out.” He nuzzled against brunette curls, “You thought he looked good before, you should see him covered in blood.” He knew he hit a nerve, she ran and he couldn’t bring himself to care, he had what he wanted and there was nothing she could do about it at the moment.

 

-Sam-

 

Michael hadn’t come back that night. Sam had waited for him, managed to stay up all night by getting rid of the garlic but when morning came there still wasn’t any sign of him. He headed downstairs, needed something to eat before trying to figure out where he had gone. What he didn’t expect was to find his mom sitting at the table drinking a cup of coffee, he looked at the clock, she should be at work.

“Mom?” He rubbed his eyes.

She looked up at him, “Have you seen your brother? He wasn’t here when I got home last night.”

“Yeah, he went to go stay with a friend.” He couldn’t tell her that he had gone out to find out who the head vampire was, she’d think he was crazy, “Aren’t you supposed to be at work? You could've come and woke me up.”

She gave him a small smile, “Did he say when he’d be back?”

He shrugged, “Tonight maybe, go to work! You can take me to the boardwalk with you and drop me off, I wanna look at some comics.”

His plan worked, got her mind off her missing son, “Alright.” She nodded, getting up and grabbing her keys, “Go change and I’ll take you with me.”

Edgar and Alan were in a heated debate when he got there, he didn’t even bother listening in, just walked up to them and started talking, “My brother didn’t come home last night.”

They both looked over at him but it was Edgar who spoke, “Where’d he go, what’d he say?”

“He was going to find Star, I don’t know where he went, figured he came to the boardwalk, did you see him around last night?” He was hopeful they had but at the same time a little worried considering what their response was after he told them that he drank blood the other night, stake him.

“Nope, didn’t see that biker gang either. Think their leader is the head vampire? He’s the one you said came to your house, right?” When Sam nodded he continued, “So, if your brother’s still only half we just need to off the leader. Where do you think they’re comin’ from? Not like we can go after them at night, on the boardwalk, in front of people.”

“I dunno, maybe they’ll show up tonight and we can follow them? Maybe Michael’ll show up and he can tell us or if we find that girl, Star, maybe she knows.” It was getting harder to stay calm, thinking of what might be happening to his brother. What if it was too late?

 

-Michael-

 

He woke up warm and comfortable, surrounded by calming scents and soft touches. He took in a deep breath, smelling leather and iron, safety and home. Burrowing deeper into that smell, the feel of skin and leather against his face, he decided that this was how every morning should be. A low chuckle reached his ears followed closely by fingers going through his hair. He could feel the warm pile he was in begin to shift as his companions woke up, stretching and sitting up. He didn’t want to open his eyes, content being held against a firm chest.

“Morning, Michael.” David. He jerked back, eyes snapping open to look at David’s face just inches from his own, “Good sleep?” He chuckled, slowly sitting up and bringing Michael with him, “You good? Remember last night?”

The events of the previous night came flooding back to him. His brother telling him he’s a vampire, looking for Star only to find David instead, and then being held and forced to drink, to kill. He should be panicking, he should be fighting, but all he could feel was a sense of calm. There was no guilt for what he had done, his mind whispering that it was only right, he was at the top of the food chain. He swallowed hard, could still taste the blood in his mouth, eyes wide as he stared at David. Star had warned him, told him that there was blood in that wine bottle, but he hadn’t believed her, not after what he had seen. He swallowed hard, looking into David’s eyes, he’d been fed David’s blood, turned into something else. Had Star been right? Had David killed him as she said he would?

David’s gaze was intense and he felt the need to look down, to show his submission, he refused, holding onto that gaze for as long as he could. It was a low growl that finally made him look down and tip his head in submission. Their leader leaned forward, biting his neck firmly before running his tongue over the indents his teeth left, blunt teeth, not fangs. Could it have all been some weird drug fueled dream?

“Not a dream, Mikey!” Marko said, hopping off the bed, grinning at him, “You’re one of us now.”

He felt strong, like he could do anything, like he was unstoppable. He looked at each of the boys in turn before looking back at David, not meeting his eyes this time, “What now?” He swallowed.

“Now? Now we go for a ride, take a little trip to the boardwalk, let the humans see you, that you’re with us.” David got to his feet as he spoke, “After that, we feed.” He grinned, heading for the exit, “Let’s go boys, night waits for no one!”

Michael found himself drawn along with them, he belonged, he was one of them, they were his family. Family. He thought of Sam and his mom, unsure what he was feeling. Part of him still felt like they were his family and yet, they weren’t, not anymore. There was a certain distance in his mind now, in his feelings, they weren’t for him anymore, David and the others were. He wasn’t sure what would happen when he saw them again but he didn’t want to go back to his grandpa’s house, the sunken hotel was his home now.

Riding his bike was like flying, he let go, let his body guide him. He felt like he could take on the world, dodging obstacles that before would have made him break and now he didn’t even slow down. A yell of excitement escaped his lips and the others answered in kind. He could feel where they were, felt connected to them. He knew every movement they were going to make and was able to move with them in sync so it didn’t come as a surprise to him when he fell into place behind David, parking his bike and getting off without a single word passing between them. He looked at David, wondering how they were able to do that.

‘We’re pack, Michael, you’re one of us.’ David’s voice rang clear in his head but his lips didn’t move, ‘You’ll learn later.’

Marko and Paul slid into the crowd, disappearing, “Where’re they going?” He stepped up to stand next to David.

“Get us some cash, things we can pawn off. Gotta support the local economy.” He chuckled, “Need to get you dressed up, new boots, those won’t last you long, maybe we’ll even see about getting you a new bike, if you want one.” He wrapped an arm around his shoulders, “Just watch for now.”

His gaze went over the crowd, watching the people move, he could smell their blood and was getting hungry. He kept it to himself for the moment though, knowing they were going hunting next. Sam was standing in the door to the comic shop talking with the two boys who seemed to run it. Part of him wanted to go see him, talk to his little brother, but he didn’t want to move, not with David’s arm around his shoulders and Dwayne’s presence at his back. David chuckled softly in his ear, spotting what he was looking at.

“Wanna go see him?” David’s breath ghosted across his skin as he spoke, “Could make a little detour, visit little brother, maybe mom? Show them you’re with us now, that you’re not going back to them.” Sam was looking at him now, drawing the other two boys’ gaze their way as well, “Looks like little bro wants to come see you.” He pulled back slowly, “Go talk to him, Michael, let him know you’re not going back.”

He moved forward, still feeling a kinship with his brother, needing him. Sam was moving toward him, the two others at his back. Michael stopped, meeting him half way, a grin on his face, “Sammy, friends of yours?” He looked at the brothers.

Sam looked scared but was holding his ground, “Mike, come on man, you had me worried, you okay?”

“Never better.” His smile grew, might as well get it over with, “I’m not going home.”

“What happened last night? You never came back. What did you do?”

“Had the best night of my life.” He licked his lips, “Don’t worry, Sammy, not gonna hurt you.”

His brother’s eyes grew wide, “Y-You killed someone?! Why?”

“Wasn’t much choice.” He could feel David coming up behind him.

“What’d you do to my brother, asshole?” Sam bit out, hands clenched into fists, looking at David.

The blonde vampire chuckled, “Mmm, all kinds of things and I’m planning to do even more. I brought him into the family, he’s mine.” He growled, “You’ll stay safe, as long as you don’t come after us. So simple even a monkey could do it. You’re smarter than a monkey, aren’t you?”

“Go to hell. I’m going to kill you for what you did.”

David laughed, tossing his head back, “Can’t wait to see you try, little man.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I keep rereading this part so I hope you've enjoyed it as much as I have. Let me know what you think!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Michael puts on a show for David and David asserts his dominance.

-David-

 

Sam and the two nuisances from the comic book store had gone back inside after Michael had said his piece, now there was only one obstacle left, well, two technically, his mother and Max. Max needed to go, Lucy was too sweet, too kind, to make it as a vampire. Michael had a dark side, one that David was having great fun drawing out, but the rest of his family, well, they just weren’t cut out for it. Max had approached him after he had already given Michael his blood, he wanted the boys so he could have their mother, well, that didn’t work out quite how the older vampire wanted because he didn’t have Michael, David did. Lucy wasn’t going to let go of her eldest easily and although David knew Michael didn’t have much of a conscience left he still had feelings for his human family and David didn’t want to risk alienating his newest pack member. Perhaps he could subtly guide Sam and those boys toward Max, get them to off him. The comic boys thought themselves vampire hunters? Well, why not give them a vampire to hunt. If nothing else it would keep them off his back for awhile. Having Max gone would be the best case scenario, he and his boys would have the run of the place, and he could make sure Lucy got the video store, make sure the humans were provided for. He was sure they would have to help get rid of Max, the bastard was crafty and thought himself their father. It could work in their favor, the idea that Max thought he had control over them, he wouldn’t be expecting them to go against him, after all, you don’t kill your own kind. Maybe they could wait until they’d gotten a new bike out of it for Michael, make Max a little more sure in his hold over them.

“David, Mikey’s hungry.” Paul pulled him out of his thoughts, making him turn to face them. Paul had an arm over Michael’s shoulders, “Growing boy needs his food.”

Michael glared at the other vampire, elbowing him in the side, “I’m fine, supposed to go see mom, yeah?” He looked toward the video store, “Let’s go see her.”

David shook his head, putting a hand on his shoulder, “Not yet, wait for her to come out.”

He made sure they were within sight of the store, anyone going in or out was going to see the five of them together, including Max. He grinned, spotting the sleek, red, car pull up. Although they didn’t have a connection with the older vampire, at least not one of sire and fledge, they knew their own and Max knew they were there. He brought his lips close to Michael’s ear as Max looked toward them.

“Can you feel him?” He whispered, glancing at the vampire, when Michael nodded he continued, “He thinks we’re his children.” He chuckled, keeping his lips almost touching the shell of Michael’s ear, “He wanted you and your brother as his to get to your mom,” his fingers tightened on his arm, warning him to stay put, “but I got you first, didn’t I?”

He knew his fledgling’s eyes were locked on Max, knew the affect his words were having, “Yes.”

Good, Michael knew he expected a response when asked something, “He will try to take you from me, are you going to let that happen?”

“No.”

Slowly he pulled away, looking at Max. Lucy was coming out, smiling at Max and stopping for a moment to talk with him. David slid a hand down his spine, “Relax, Michael, let her see that you’re with us because you want to be, that you’re not forced.” He paused, glancing at the brunette, “She’ll come to you all on her own.”

The moment Lucy saw them she rushed over, intent on finding out where her son had been, no doubt, and David took a step back, "Michael Emerson! Where have you been?"

Michael smiled at her, "I'm fine, mom, staying with some friends." He glanced back at David and the others. She followed his gaze, scowling, of course she would see them as the bad guys, "It's fine, we just hang out on the boardwalk and ride bikes, it's not like it's a gang or anything."

David smirked, oh, they were a gang alright, a vampire gang. Lucy shook her head, "Come home."

Michael looked conflicted and his thoughts weren't much better. David could tell he wanted to go with her but his new nature wanted to remain with the pack. Once day came Michael would have no choice but to find shelter from the sun, but until then it was his decision what he wanted to do, David just had to hope he made the right one.

He watched as Michael pulled her into a hug, "Sorry, mom, I can't." He pulled back slowly, "I need some time to figure things out." Slowly he stepped back to stand next to David, "I'll come over tomorrow night."

"Michael, don't, please, just come home, talk to me, we can fix whatever's wrong."

"I'll see you tomorrow." He turned around, heading for his bike.

David could see the confusion on her face as Michael walked away, he smirked at her and Max before following after, the other three falling in line easily. Michael was sitting on his bike, bent over the front, fingers gripping tight to the handlebars. They would have to get him a new bike just from the way he was bending the metal.

"You'll have to ride with me." David stated, "You've ruined your front end."

 

-Michael-

 

Michael wasn’t sure exactly what was going on in his head. He had been happy to see his brother, wanted to let him know everything was fine, that he was good, and that wasn’t what came out. He could have denied he was a vampire, that he had made his first kill, given Sam a little hope, but he practically threatened him instead. He felt that he’d handled his mom alright but he still could have done better. He could feel the others behind him as his fingers clenched, twisting the metal of his bike. His bike. He blinked, sitting up a bit, looking down at what he’d done.

“Shit.”

David chuckled softly, “Don’t think you heard me, gonna have to ride with me tonight, get ya a new one tomorrow.”

“Can’t I just, I dunno, pull it back into place?” He stared down at the damage he’d done.

Paul shrugged, examining his handlebars, “You could try but you’re gonna need a new one anyway. Could at least get you back to the hotel, maybe.” He glanced at David, “Better to ride with him though.”

“Marko will take care of your bike, let’s get you something to eat, must be hungry.” David straddled his own bike, “Let’s go, Michael.”

The tone in his voice, the same he’d used with Star that night on the boardwalk, he felt it like a command, one that he had to obey, and yet could resist if he really wanted to. He eyed the space behind the blonde, debating if he really wanted to follow that order or not, before finally settling in. He wasn’t giving in, he was just hungry, at least that’s what he told himself as David gunned the bike and took off with a shout. He couldn’t help but echo it, tossing his head back and laughing. He spread his arms to the side, arching his back, letting the wind rush over him as David pushed his bike faster. It was kind of freeing, not having to think about where they were going, what they were going to do, he was able to just hand it over to someone else. He scowled, pulling his arms back in, resting them on his shoulders, he could make his own decisions.

‘Something wrong, Michael?’ He heard his voice as though he’d spoken aloud, he really needed to learn how to do that. He shook his head, he wasn’t going to let David control him, ‘Not gonna control you, Michael, you’re one of us now, family.’

He wasn’t so sure if he trusted that David was telling the truth but then again he hadn’t forced him to do anything. He scowled, tricked him, yes, forced, no. The bike came to a stop on the beach. Michael got off, looking around with a scowl on his face, there wasn’t food here, he couldn’t smell anyone, see anyone. He turned back to David, scowling at the smile on his face.

“What’re we doing here?”

David chuckled softly, “There’s no one out here now but there will be soon. We’re just waiting for them.” He got off his bike, “I thought about getting you some new clothes tonight, nice pair of boots, those shoes of yours aren’t gonna last long.” He motioned to his feet, “Decided against it, new bike, new clothes, all that tomorrow, tonight I wanna see you let loose!” He grabbed the back of his neck, grinning at him, pulling him so their foreheads touched.

Michael smelled them before he heard them, a man and a woman were coming toward them, smiling and laughing. He took a deep breath, smelling David, smelling them, life and death. Slowly he drew back, turning his head to look at them. They were young, happy, and he was hungry. They walked hand in hand, finally stopping a ways off. They only had eyes for each other, didn’t notice or even seem to care that Michael and David were there with them.

“Go on, Michael.” His voice was soft in his ear, “Give me a show.”

In a flash he was on them, grabbing the woman from behind, holding her against his chest, a low growl escaping his lips as he smiled, licking up her throat, “Hi.” He grinned, looking at the man.

“Let her go!” His hands were clenched into fists.

He smiled, “You want me to let her go? What if I don’t want to let her go?” He jerked her closer, wringing a cry from her lips.

“Please, please, don’t hurt me.”

“Shh,” he kissed her throat and she struggled, “easy, hold still and I won’t hurt you.” She went still and he smiled, “There, that’s better.” He tipped his head to look at David, “See that man over there?” Her companion whirled to face him, “He wants me to give him a show and not a one man show either, think you can help me out with that?”

David grinned, leaning against his bike, “I think they can, you got good volunteers there, Michael! Wish I had some popcorn.”

He couldn’t help but grin in return, “Here’s how it’s going to work, you’re going to watch, and your girl and I are going to play,” he paused for a moment, “and if you try to run, David there is going to stop you and I’ll draw this out for as long as I can, understand?” When he received a nod in reply he laughed, “Good! Let’s get started!”

He wanted to see her bleed, wanted to taste it, feel it against his skin. A low groan escaped his lips, he wasn’t sure if he was going to be able to actually make this the kind of show David wanted, he was so hungry. One deep breath in and he was under control again, slowly he dragged his fangs over her throat, feeling the skin part easily as the crimson liquid spilled across his lips. His tongue chased it as she began to cry, he watched the man as he lapped up the blood, watched as his hands clenched into fists. His gaze turned back to the woman, moaning into her throat, dragging the points over her skin again, teasing himself, when all he wanted to do was drive them in deep and drink her down. The man didn’t do what he thought he would, he didn’t try to run, and the fist that hit him across the face surprised him. A low angry growl escaped his lips as he jerked back, eyes golden as he snarled at him, holding his prey tighter. The man’s eyes went wide and he took a step back, his throat working as he swallowed, denial on his lips. Michael lashed out, claws dragging down his chest, the man screaming as he tried to dodge back but his skin was sliced open. He snarled, knowing David would stop him if he ran, and drove his fangs into her throat. A continuous growl rumbled in his throat as he fed, her cries dying off as she drew her last breath. He dropped her, looking at the man, he was frozen in fear and Michael could smell the acrid stench of urine. His lip curled into a snarl, the smell was off putting, he didn’t want to eat him now but that didn’t mean he didn’t want to kill him. Claws dug in deep as he grabbed the man by the shoulders, jerking him forward before going up. He had yet to fly, at least while he was in his right mind, and it was amazing. His passenger didn’t think so, his screams merging with Michael’s laughter as he brought him up over the water. Blood dripped down into the water as he hovered, looking back to the shore, David was waiting for him, taking care of the woman’s body, but he wanted David to see this, wanted to show him the rest of the show.

‘David.’ He wasn’t sure if it was actually going to work, focusing on exactly what he wanted the other vampire to hear. A blonde head jerked up, looking at him, ‘Get out here and stop feeling up the body.’

He heard the growl a moment before David appeared in front of him, “I’m not feeling up a corpse.” His lips were pulled back, showing his teeth.

“I just wanted you out here to finish watching the show but if you don’t want to, hey, I’m not gonna stop you.” He gave the man a little shake, hearing him scream again.

Seeming to be appeased for the moment, David backed up, motioning for him to continue, “You got me out here, give me the rest of my show.”

Michael grinned, looking down at him, “You want me to let you go, right? Just forget this ever happened?” When the man nodded his smile grew, “I could do that,” he pulled one hand free, letting him dangle, “you sure you want me to let you go? That water looks pretty cold.”

He shook his head, “No, no, please don’t let me go, please! I’ll give you anything you want.”

“Anything?” He looked thoughtful, “Hmm, well, here’s what I want.” The man looked up at him hopefully, “I want to drop you.” He let him go, watching as he fell into the deep blue waters before looking at David, grinning at him, “Enjoy your show?”

He got his answer when the elder vampire grabbed him and pulled him close, lips crashing against his, nipping at them, claiming his mouth, tasting the blood on his teeth, “You can put a show on for me any time you’d like.” He growled, nipping his lip sharply before soothing it with his tongue, “Let’s get back.”

David had kissed him. He had practically devoured his mouth, claimed it like it was his own, but Michael wasn’t ready to admit he liked it. His lingering humanity balked at the thought of kissing another man but the rest of him found it interesting, a little thrilling even. David chuckled softly as Michael just kind of hovered there, looking a little dazed and confused, “Come on, Michael, time to meet up with the boys.”

 

-Dwayne-

 

At first he wasn’t sure about Michael, he wasn’t sure about what David’s plans were for him, but he recognized that look in his eyes, David wanted Michael. Star hadn’t known what David wanted when he sent her to get the young man. Telling her he was to be her first kill had been perfect, he knew Star wouldn’t kill. None of the boys had liked the idea of her joining them in the first place, but Max thought she would be good for them and David hadn’t objected. In the beginning David had been taken with her but her refusal to feed was wearing on all of them and once he saw Michael, well, Star became competition. She was upset when they brought Michael back after his first kill, David had been right, she saw him as an escape, someone to get her away from the boys, to maybe even kill David and save her. Well, she wasn’t David’s, not like the boys were, not like Michael was. Right now Michael was vulnerable, the first few days after the kill they were open to suggestion, pack bonds, family bonds, were formed in the first few days. They would sleep surrounding him like they had the first night, smelling him, letting him smell them, and tonight when David and Michael came home they’d all exchange blood, further cementing the bond forming between them. Everything David had Michael do in these first few nights was crucial, if they wanted him as their brother, wanted him to enjoy what they did, he would have to kill, have to learn to enjoy it. Right now he had no conscience, his morals were shot, and that’s how it would always be, but he would always have a connection to his mortal family. He knew that the pack wasn’t going to leave Santa Carla and he had a feeling that his family wasn’t going to either so there would always be the possibility of contact, then there was Max. David was planning something but wasn’t ready to tell them anything yet. Dwayne knew they would be told when David was ready and not before.

He let out a sigh, walking past Paul and pulling the joint out from between his fingers, “Hey!” Paul reached after him, growling softly.

Dwayne looked down at him, drawing it in before handing it back, “We always share.” He stated calmly, “David and Michael will be back soon.”

“What do you think David was thinking? He let Star run off again, she’s gonna make things rough for little Mikey.” Marko leaned back against the fountain, staring up at the ceiling, “Mike’s gonna be trouble, couple a nights, when he gets all settled, you know he is, that family’s he’s got and Max.”

“Max’s gonna be the real problem.” Paul tipped his head back, smoking his joint, “He wants mommy Emerson. What do ya think David has planned? He always has a plan.”

Dwayne shrugged, “He’ll let us know, right now pretty sure he’s only thinkin’ about Michael.”

"Think he wants to mate him?" Marko grinned, "Pin him down and just own that ass?"

Paul snickered, “Like Michael would let him do that.”

“Well, Michael’s not in his right mind.” Marko sat up, looking at his brother, “Bet if you get him on a blood high he’ll do anything.”

All three of them were laughing when David and Michael walked in, “Had a good time?” David asked, immediately walking over to his wheelchair and sitting down.

Michael looked a little dazed, maybe Marko hadn’t been too far off the mark, “Looks like you did.” Marko shot back, grinning wildly.

“Michael put on a good show for me.” David chuckled, leaning back, “Now we get ready for bed.” He looked at Michael, “Come here.”

The boys watched as Michael walked over to him, still looking a little dazed, lost in thought. Their leader chuckled, pulling him into his lap. The brunette let out a yelp before he was silenced by David's wrist. He let out a muffled sound against it, there may have been some words in there but Dwayne couldn't tell.

"Bite." David kept his wrist firmly in place until Michael sank his teeth in, "Good boy." Michael glared up at him, "Dwayne, you're next." Using his free hand he brought Michael's wrist to his lips, sinking his fangs in and swallowing before pulling back, "Let go, Michael." For a moment it looked like he wasn't going to but he relented after a soft growl from their leader, "Dwayne, go ahead."

"Wait, what?" Michael was about to continue, looking very confused, when Dwayne placed his wrist to his lips, waiting until he sank them in before copying David and drinking from their youngest member.

"Paul." David's fingers were going through Michael's hair as each took their turn.

Blood exchange was the best way to form bonds and it strengthened their connection to each other. It made it easier to anticipate what their leader had planned when they could feel each other's emotions. Marko was the last to exchange blood with Michael and the moment they pulled away from each other he lashed out, punching David across the face.

 

-Michael-

 

He was so very confused, David had fed him and fed from him, which was weird, but then he had everyone else come and do it to. Sure, lashing out probably hadn't been the best idea, but he hadn't expected something like this after their show on the beach. David was growling at him softly, eyes golden and narrowed, the others were letting off soft growls as well and in that moment Michael knew what he had done wrong. That punch was seen as a challenge, David was angry, he could feel it, and the others were surprised and a little upset. He'd never felt anything like this before, he knew what the others were feeling.

He swallowed hard, looking up at David from where he was sprawled across his lap, "Shit."

He wasn't sure what to do, he didn't want to challenge David, he didn't want to lead. The other vampire was on him in a flash, pinning him to the ground. A soft whimper escaped his throat and he clenched his eyes shut tight, tipping his head to the side. When fangs sunk deep into his throat it hurt, this wasn't like a few minutes ago when they all fed from each other, this was violent, a show of dominance. He let out a cry, squirming under the blonde, claws digging into the ground beneath him, at least he knew better than to dig them into David. Those fangs tore a little deeper with each movement, David growled, not letting up until he finally went still. Slowly, he pulled away, dragging his tongue over the wounds in his throat. They weren't closing like they should, the ones on his wrist had closed up almost immediately but these, he could still feel a sluggish trickle of blood sliding down his throat.

"I'm gonna overlook it this time but next time I won't be so nice." There was still a bit of blood on his lips and Michael found himself wanting to lick it off, "Go ahead." He smirked, knew exactly what was on his mind. He tipped his head up, flicking his tongue out to catch the stray drops of blood, "The exchange binds us together, it's gonna happen every night for a few days, helps get you settled with the rest of us." He paused, sitting back on Michael's legs, "It's about time to sleep." He got up, offering  him his hand.

He took it, letting himself be pulled to his feet, "Why am I still bleeding?"

"To remind you that you fucked up." Paul grinned, "It's gonna scar too."

Michael glared at him, "Not like I meant to, doing crap like that without telling me what's going on, what was I supposed to do? Just lay there?"

"Yeah." Marko shook his head, "Sleeping as usual or curled up again?"

"Think you already know the answer, Marko." David was heading for the bed, "Michael, come lay down."

He followed, scowling slightly, "Now what?"

David shrugged his coat off, laying it to the side, "Remember how we slept last night? Well, same thing tonight."

A sigh escaped his lips but he crawled into bed, laying on his back. David chuckled, settling in beside him before pulling him in against his chest, turning him so he was scenting at David's neck. The others settled into the same positions from the night before and as the sun rose Michael found himself pulled into darkness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to be posting another chapter I think right after this one, it all depends on how many more words I have typed up. Please keep letting me know what you think! I'm having a lot of fun writing this.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Michael gets a new bike and David pays a visit to Max.

-David-

 

He woke up first, looking around at his pack. Paul was twitching in his sleep, Dwayne was pressed tight to Michael's back, arm wrapped around his waist, and Marko was arched around them, trying to touch all of them. Michael was pressed against his chest, his breath ghosting across his skin, it was nice sleeping like this but hanging from the ceiling made for safer sleep. Michael would sleep a little longer and David wasn't looking forward to him going to see his human family. They would have to get him clothes and a new bike later, maybe he could convince him to limit his time over there so they would still have time to get him kitted out. His fingers slid slowly through Michael's hair, now he needed to decide who was going to give up their bike so Michael could go visit his mommy. He rolled his eyes, maybe he'd just go with him and wait outside. Dwayne stretched, letting out a low groan as he opened his eyes, Paul and Marko followed soon after.

"What's the plan tonight?" Paul rubbed his eyes.

"Mikey wanted to go see his mommy." Marko ruffled his fingers through brown curls wringing a groan from their youngest member.

Michael buried his nose against David's chest, breathing in deep as he grumbled softly. David stroked through his hair, letting him relax a bit longer, "Time to wake up, Michael." He chuckled when he felt fingers dig into his chest, "Come on, thought you wanted to go see your mommy." He teased, all of them laughing.

"And I thought we were gonna get me a new bike." He mumbled against his skin.

He was the first one to admit that he could get used to this, feeling Michael against him, it would only be a matter of time before he had him to himself, "We will, but her first, keep up appearances."

"How am I gonna get there? Fly?" He kept his face buried, either he hadn't quite noticed yet or he didn't care that he was pressed between two very male vampires.

"I'll take you, wait outside, then we can go get you some gear." He looked at the other three, "Actually, what size shoe?"

Slowly, Michael pulled back, scowling slightly, "What? Like a 12, why do you need to know?"

"Dwayne will get some boots while you socialize, then we can all go snag you a new bike."

He nodded, "Alright." Dwayne got up first followed closely by Marko but when Michael went to get up he found himself pinned, "Paul, get off." He jerked his legs a bit, trying to dislodge the vampire pinning them down.

The blonde squeezed them, grumbling, "I don't wanna get up."

David sat up, flicking his ear, "Up, now, have things to do." Paul grumbled, giving them the finger before rolling off, "You and Marko will go with Dwayne, pick something out that's gonna last." He looked at Michael, "Let's go." He grabbed his coat from where he'd tossed it, pulling it on and heading for the exit, ‘Dwayne, stop by and steal some money from Max.’

Michael followed, "What's with the whole shoving my nose in your neck thing before we go to sleep?"

"Scent bonding." He headed up the stairs to where their bikes were parked, "Like the blood exchange, binds us together. We know each other's scent, we can find each other, pretty simple." He got on his bike, waiting for Michael to take his place.

He settled in behind him, "So, like animals. Why're you only making me sniff you?"

"Leader of the pack, I'm the one you go to, I make sure we're taken care of. You'll learn the others too." He left off the fact that he was going to take Michael as his mate and scent bonding would make it easier to push him into his place, more subtle, less forceful, "You hungry? Need to make a stop off for a quick snack?"

He shook his head, hands resting on his shoulders as David started his bike and took off toward the Emerson house, "I'm fine, just want to get this over with."

David could feel the apprehension and fear coming off his fledgling, he didn't want to see his brother and knew that Sam would very likely be there, "Just walk up to the door and knock, your mom'll invite you in and there'll be no problem with Sam, he won't even be able to tell you're one of us."

"So, when I invited you in, does that still work?"

"Yeah, you never revoked it, if I go in your mom'll just think I'm a normal guy, well, as normal as I can be." He chuckled, "Almost there." He stopped a ways from the house, "I'll be waiting for you, try not to take too long, we've got things to do tonight."

Michael nodded, swigging his leg over and heading for the house, his hands buried in the pockets of his jacket. David watched as he knocked on the door and he could hear Lucy shouting for him to come in. Oh, how he would love to be in there to see what was going to happen. If Michael got distressed he was ready to move in, but for now he was content to wait outside.

 

-Michael-

 

He wasn't sure if he was actually going to get an invite or not, especially if Sam was there, but when he heard his mom call for him to come in he couldn't help but feel relieved. Of course his brother had to go ruin it. Sam had tried to shout for her not to do it, not to invite him in, but the words had already left her mouth and Michael had crossed the threshold.

"Sam, I'm fine." He faced his brother, crossing his arms over his chest. Sam shook his head, flinging water at him. He blinked, scowling, "What was that for?"

Sam looked confused, "It didn't burn?"

"No, should it have?"

"It was holy water. You should be burned!"

"I told you, I'm fine, let's sit down. Sounds like mom's almost done with dinner." He settled down at the table, Sam sitting across from him.

"I saw you drink blood!" He hissed, leaning forward, "I'm not crazy."

"I haven't killed anyone." Ok, so that was a bold-faced lie, "I'm trying to find out who the leader is." And another lie but it was better this way.

Sam visibly relaxed, "Alright, but why won't you come home?"

"They think I'm one of them, if I stay I can find out who the leader is."

"It's not that blonde one?"

He shook his head, "No, I don't think it's David."

"Dinner's ready!" Lucy came in carrying a tray of lasagna, setting it down before grabbing some garlic bread.

Sam already knew garlic had an effect on him so he was going to have to keep that up, even though the invite seemed to have gotten rid of that particular problem. He crinkled up his nose, pushing the garlic bread away from himself before grabbing some lasagna.

"You don't want any bread?" She looked confused, garlic bread had been one of his favorites.

"Just not in the mood tonight." Honestly he wasn't in the mood for any food but he had to keep up appearances.

They ate in silence for awhile until Lucy spoke up, "Tell me about these friends of yours, Michael."

Oh, boy, he was not looking forward to this conversation, "I'm staying with David, he has his own place." Yeah, in a sunken hotel.

"After you left last night Max told me those boys are trouble."

"They're fine, we haven't done anything bad, we go out, ride, and just hang out." The silence was uncomfortable, "I'm having fun, making friends, isn’t that what you wanted? We're in a new town, we don’t really know anyone, why aren't you happy for me?"

"I am, I just don't want you falling in with the wrong crowd, I don't want you getting in trouble." She paused, "Why won't you come home?"

"Because I'm almost 18, I need to figure out what I'm going to do. I figured being away would let me see what it's like." The moment she relaxed he knew she'd bought it.

"If that's what you need to do but I expect you to come for dinner or just stop in once a week."

"Okay, mom."

 

-David-

 

He leaned against his bike, smoking a cigarette while waiting for Michael to finish his little domestic dinner, when he heard the rapid beating of two hearts. They were afraid, he could practically smell it on them, but they were certainly brave to be out here, at night, approaching him.

He dropped his cigarette, rubbing it out with his boot, "I know you're there, come out and let's have a nice little talk." Edgar and Alan Frog stepped out from the safety of a group of nearby trees, wooden stakes firmly in hand. They had guts, he'd give them that, "You're not going to kill me, so get over here and we'll talk for a bit, I'll tell you a nice little bedtime story." They came closer but not as close as he might've liked, "See, there once was a young man, long time ago, who got turned into a vampire. He made others, companions for himself, until one night another, much older, vampire came to visit. He wanted this young man to play leader, to play master of the great city of Santa Carla. He said sure, why not, it was something to do, might be fun. Everything was going fine until he was given a girl, freshly turned, still half, and she was entertaining for awhile, made good bait, but she refused to feed. Then one night he saw a new guy, fresh to the city, and he went after him, drew him in, brought him into the family, but this other vampire, the older one, he saw the newcomer's mom and decided he wanted her. So he came to the younger vamp, wanted him to use his blood to turn the lady's kids, well, was a little late for that! He already had one of them. Man was he angry but was a little late so he went with it. Now the younger vampire," he grinned, "that would be me, by the way, made a decision, the other vamp had to go. We don't kill our own but hey, there's a couple wannabe hunters in town, let's give them the lowdown. Kind of lucked out you guys were lurking around."

"So if we off you, Michael will go back to human?" The one with the bandana, Edgar he thought, said.

"Nah, he already made his kill, but you can save your little friend and his mom, and I can help you do it. All you have to do in return is leave me and my boys alone." His smile was feral, "Easy, right? Do we have a deal?"

The brothers shared a look before nodding, "Alright, deal, who's the head vampire?" Edgar was the talker it seemed.

"Max."

"The video store guy?" Alan burst out laughing, "You can't be serious."

David chuckled, "Oh, I'm serious, he's the big boss." He glanced over their shoulders, "So, get your little friend and figure out how you're gonna off him, if you really can't do it on your own come find me and I'll see if I can't give you a hint or two." He patted them on the head, "Michael, let's go!" He started his bike up, "Remember, you leave me and mine alone."

Michael stepped past the brothers, scowling slightly, "What're you doing out here?" He got on behind David.

"Sam asked us to come in case you brought any of your little vamp buddies." Alan glared at him.

He shook his head, "Yeah, well, look after my brother." David revved the engine once before spinning around and taking off, "What was that all about?"

"We had a nice chat while you ate, told them a story, about your mom's boyfriend."

"I should've told her he's a bad guy."

David laughed, "She wouldn't believe you."

Michael leaned forward, resting his head against his shoulder, “I should have grabbed some clothes while I was there.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll get it taken care of.”

They were heading away from Santa Carla, “Where’re we going?”

“Nearest dealership, gotta get you a new bike.”

He scowled, “What? How’re we doing that? I doubt they’re open and how’re we gonna pay for it?”

“Dwayne’s got it covered, had him stop by to see Max after getting your new boots.”

“What?”

“I’m hearing that from you a lot, what, what, just go with it. I told you Max thinks we’re like his kids, him giving out the cash for your bike will make him feel like he’s got a hold on us, on you. Honestly, I don’t care, we’d have gotten you a bike anyway, this just works out better for us.”

Michael had been right, the nearest dealership wasn’t open, but David was undeterred. Dwayne and the others were already there, a pair of boots in hand. They were black, high quality leather motorcycle boots, complete with straps around the ankle and at the top. He could never have afforded these and here they were being handed over to him like it was nothing. He got off David’s bike, eyes locked on those boots, unsure if this was a joke or not. Dwayne held them out, waiting expectantly for him to take them.

“Try ‘em on.” He gave them a little shake, “Haven’t figured out that there’s no more tricks, no more tests, you’re one of us, we only mess with each other a little bit.”

Paul grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest, “Yeah, sure, right, only a little bit.”

Michael took them, quickly kicking off his sneakers and pulling them on. They were a perfect fit, needed to be worked in a bit, but were comfortable, would last a lifetime, maybe even more. He grinned, “Thanks.”

“Gotta make sure our little brother’s all decked out!” Marko grinned, punching Paul in the shoulder, “Don’t be a baby, Pauly.”

David shook his head, “We’ll get you some new clothes tomorrow night, right now, pick your chariot, Michael!” He spread his arms, grinning at them.

 

-Star-

 

She pulled her shawl tighter around her shoulders. It had been getting harder and harder to keep herself from feeding and now that she couldn’t go back to the hotel, couldn’t rely on Michael to save her from David, she was forced to find other places to sleep. Part of her was tempted to go to Michael’s family, see if they would help her, let her stay, but since Michael had made his first kill she wasn’t sure if they would be open to it. Maybe if she could get Michael by himself, talk to him, he could help her. She had seen Dwayne, Marko, and Paul on the boardwalk, watched them actually pay money to buy a pair of boots, she figured they were for Michael, but not once did she see Michael or David. Part of her wondered what they would do to her if she showed back up at the hotel, interrupted whatever new bonding ritual they were doing. Perhaps if she went back while they weren’t there she could sleep in the back or maybe they’d let her stay. Until Michael, she had been welcome, David had kept her close, but now he pushed her away, acted like she was nothing, and she couldn’t understand why. Why did David want to keep her away from Michael? She would go back for the day, leave before they woke up and then see if she could get Michael by himself. Even though he was now a full vampire, maybe he would help her, save her from becoming what he now was.

 

-Michael-

 

The feel of the Triumph between his legs was amazing. He could feel it rumble through him as he sped down the road, pushing faster, it was better than riding behind David on his. He tipped his head back and howled, laughing into the night air, hearing the echo of the others shouting and yelling in return. David was ahead of him, laughing as he led the way back to Santa Carla, back to the sunken hotel. They had taken the bike and left enough money to pay for it sticking out under the door mat. David had said paying for it was easier, that way it wouldn’t be reported stolen. He pushed himself faster, turning at the last moment for every corner, and when they got to the cliffs he came to a stop right on the edge, looking down at the sea rolling below. He let out a whoop, grinning at his companions, he felt alive, more alive than when he was actually living.

“What do you think, Michael?” David chuckled, parking his bike.

“Awesome.” He grinned. He paused for a moment, “I’m hungry.”

The others laughed, “Go find someone to eat and come back, let’s see you hunt on your own tonight.” David grinned, “Usually always hunt as a pack but it’s good to know how to hunt solo.” He got off his bike, walking over and grasping the back of Michael’s neck, “You’ve got an hour, if you’re not back by then I’m going to come after you.” He chuckled darkly, “And I’m not sure you’d like what I’d have in store. Got it?” When Michael nodded he released him, “Good, get going!”

He headed back to town, leaving the others standing by their bikes. The boardwalk was still full of people, plenty to choose from, he left his bike in their usual spot before going looking for someone interesting. There was a flash of color, the sound of bells, long brown hair, Star. He could feel her, she was nearby, he looked around, wondering where she was.

“Star?” His voice was soft, he hadn’t seen her since before his kill, he was pretty sure he had hallucinated her that night but couldn’t be positive, “Star!” He caught sight of her again and gave chase.

“Michael?” As he got closer she turned, eyes wide at seeing him, “Michael, what’re you doing here?”

He grinned, reaching out and brushing a curl out of her face, “I was hungry, what’re you doing here? I haven’t seen you in forever, what happened?” His smile fell when she flinched slightly, “I’m not gonna hurt you.” He dropped his hand, “Where’ve you been?”

“Trying to stay away from David and the others, they don’t want me around you.”

“Come back with me, I’m sure everything will be alright.”

She shook her head, “No, I can’t go back. I…” She swallowed hard, “I was hoping I could find you, see if I could stay with your family, at least for a little while.”

“Yeah, let me eat something and then I’ll take you there, talk to my mom.” He was sure she would welcome Star, let her stay, “I’ll be right back, you can wait by my bike if you want to.”

She nodded, “Alright, I’ll wait there.” It didn’t take him long to find a tourist, some teenager there for the summer, and feed. He dumped her body in the ocean before returning to Star, “You got a new bike.”

He nodded, “I wrecked my old one.” He got on, “Let’s go, I have to be back to the hotel in an hour.” She settled in behind him and he took off. It didn’t take long to pull up in front of the house. The lights were still on which was a relief, it meant he wasn’t going to wake anyone up. He went to the door, knocking and stepping inside, “Hello? Mom?”

“Michael?” She sounded tired as she stepped out of the kitchen in her nightgown.

“Hey, umm, I was hoping that my friend could stay here. She doesn’t have anyone and there isn’t any room at David’s.”

That seemed to wake her up a little more and she looked at Star, “You poor thing, come on, let’s get you something warm to eat.”

Star smiled at her, “Thank you, Mrs. Emerson, I don’t want to be a burden.”

“Nonsense, come sit down.”

She slid into a chair, “I’ll look for a place in the morning, I just need somewhere to stay for a few days.”

Michael was still at the door, he needed to be getting back, was running out of time, “I’ve gotta go, sorry to dump this on you mom but I need to get some sleep.” He was out the door before either of them could respond and on his bike just as fast.

When he pulled up and parked his hour was nearly up and when he walked into the hotel David was getting to his feet, looking like he was ready to start hunting, “Michael, cutting it a little close, don’t you think?” He moved toward the newly arrived vampire, “What kept you?” He went to speak but was cut off by a low growl as David scented at him, "Why do you smell like Star?" His voice came out as a low hiss.

"I ran into her, tried to get her to come back but she wouldn't so I took her to my mom's." The words came out in a fast rush, his eyes wide as David crowded into his space, "Back off, I didn't sleep with her or anything." Marko was behind David, motioning for Michael to shut up, "What? I didn't do anything!"

"I shouldn't have let you go by yourself, not yet, she'll try to take you from us, just like Max, try to get you to kill me." He wrapped a hand around the back of his neck, pulling him close, "Bite me." He ordered, pressing Michael's lips to his throat.

He sank his teeth in and David relaxed, stroking through his hair, letting him take a swallow before sinking his own fangs into his shoulder. David was the only one he exchanged blood with from the neck that night, the others were by wrist. It felt like David was asserting his dominance, showing that Michael was his and no one was going to take him away. That morning if David held him a little closer, a little tighter, Michael didn't say anything, just laid there and breathed him in before falling asleep.

 

-David-

 

When he had smelled Star on Michael he had seen red. Of course Michael had to get defensive and dig himself a hole but his willingness to sink his teeth into David’s throat without really understanding the meaning behind it soothed the possessive part of David. He wasn’t going to let Michael out on his own any time soon, they would all hunt together tonight, maybe hope for another bonfire, they were always the most filling. He also wanted to spend some time on the boardwalk, see if that new security guard was going to come after them the way the last one had, now that had been fun. Taking a trip out to the trestle might be fun, show Michael what he had missed out on the first time. It would also be good to see if he had any lingering human fear. Part of him wanted to go visit Max as well, see how he took the theft of his money, he didn’t always like it when the boys raided his stash. They also needed to get Michael some new clothes, that t-shirt and worn out jeans look just wasn’t very fitting.

The others were still mostly asleep, Dwayne was waking up, his arms tightening around Michael before letting loose as he opened his eyes, “Evening. Thinking too hard?”

“Yeah, deciding what we’re gonna do tonight, Michael needs something else to wear but I want to pay a visit to Max, see what he has to say about our little theft.” He chuckled softly, “You and the boys take Michael, get him set up, I’ll go pay a visit to his highness, we’ll meet at the beach, see if we can find a good meal.”

“Anything in particular you want to see him in?” Dwayne smirked at him over Michael’s back.

“I leave it in your hands, I’m sure Michael will make it well known what he wants to wear.” The others were waking up, stretching and getting up, leaving David and Michael alone on the bed. He chuckled softly, “Time to wake up, sleeping beauty.” He poked him in the shoulder, “Michael, Michael,” he whispered in his ear, “time to get up.” When the fledgling just curled closer he rolled his eyes, “Michael!” His voice boomed through the room making everyone jump and sending Michael flailing over the edge of the bed in his half asleep state. They all burst into laughter as their youngest sat up, growling softly, “Told ya it was time to wake up. Come on, have things to do tonight, you’re going with Dwayne and the rest of the boys for awhile, I’ll be meeting up with you later.” He hopped off the bed, looking at Dwayne, “Keep out of trouble.” He laughed, heading out and up to his bike.

It was a nice night, little warm, off to a good start, and the sky was clear as he sped toward Max’s place. The older vampire didn’t leave right when night fell, he was a creature of habit, if he was hungry he’d go hunting, otherwise he would sit at home with Thorn for awhile before going in to the video store. David actually liked the dog, was debating what he was going to do with it when Max was offed. He parked outside the fence, hopping over it and going for the door, pushing it open without knocking.

“Still here, old man?” He stepped inside, looking around.

The house was just so sickeningly normal, it was boring, “David, what are you doing here?” Max stepped out of the kitchen, Thorn by his side.

The dog trotted over to David when he crouched down, demanding to be pet. He rubbed his head, looking up at the vampire, “Came to see how it’s goin’, just checking in.”

His eyes narrowed suspiciously, “You never just ‘check in’.”

He shrugged, “How’s it going with little Lucy?”

He seemed to brighten a little at that, “Fine, I’m having dinner tomorrow at her home.”

Michael would want to know about that, he might even accompany him, the two of them would be enough of a deterrent Max would avoid trying anything with Sam, “Sounds fun.” They would definitely have to crash the party.

Max looked thoughtful for a moment before turning around and going to the other room. David held back a snicker, he was going to check on his stash of cash. When he came back he was scowling, “You wouldn’t happen to know who got into my safe, now would you, David?”

“Why, I don’t know Max, you sure you didn’t take some out?”

“The amount missing is enough for a bike and you have a new member in your little club,” he paused for a moment, “what I can’t figure out is why you would need another bike, I thought Michael had one of his own.”

David gave Thorn another pat on the head before standing, “His bike was crap, besides, he twisted up the front end. I figured you’d be happy we got him a new bike, thought you wanted to have him on your side, make it easier to get to his mommy,” he crossed his arms over his chest, “or are you still jealous that I got him first and he isn’t yours?” Okay, so maybe he was pushing it a little bit but it was fun to rile the stuffy vampire up a bit.

Max looked angry at that, maybe he went a little too far, “I could take him from you, don’t forget that.” He growled, bearing his teeth.

David wasn’t impressed, wasn’t even scared, their bonding was far enough along it would take a lot of effort to change it, “I get it. Need us to do anything?” Internally he rolled his eyes.

“No, just don’t forget who exactly is in charge here.”

“I won’t.” David was grinning, he knew who was in charge and it wasn’t Max, “Gonna go meet up with the boys and get something to eat, have a nice night at the video store.” He laughed, giving Thorn another pat on the head before heading out. He focused on Dwayne, it was a little harder to talk over long distances but with enough practice it was doable, ‘Headed your way, still shopping?’

‘Yes, Michael got a new pair of pants but he and Marko are arguing over shirts.’

He shook his head, Michael wouldn’t look good in a crop top. He pushed his bike a little harder, coming up to park beside the other bikes. As he was getting off he spotted the comic book brothers coming his way. They looked nervous and he couldn’t blame them. He leaned against his bike, waiting for them, a smile on his face. Once they were close enough he raised an eyebrow, waiting for them to speak, when they didn’t, he rolled his eyes, “Out with it, what’d you come here for?”

Edgar glared at him, standing tall, getting himself under control, “What’s the best way to off him?”

David couldn’t help but laugh, “The best way? Get him during the day. Stake through the heart, sunlight, he lives in a house, not the safest place in the world, lots of windows. Just watch out for Thorn.”

They scowled, “Thorn?” That was Alan, finally he opened his mouth and said something.

“His dog. Bound to him and all that shit. He’ll rip your throat out if you get too close. He’s still like other dogs though, give him a big bone, choice piece of meat and he’ll leave you alone.” He paused, narrowing his eyes, “Don’t hurt that dog, it’ll wake Max up. Once you take care of him, Thorn will leave you alone.” The boys nodded, “Anything else?” They shook their heads and he grinned, “Good, now scram.” He growled for emphasis and they bolted right as Paul came out of one of the stores.

The blonde scowled at him, cocking his head to the side, ‘What the hell, man? Talking with dinner now?’

David glared at him, ‘Get over here. I’m not explaining twice.’

He trudged over, glancing back at the store, “So, right, what’d they want?”

“Where’re the others?” He ignored the question, was serious when he said he was only going to explain once.

“Still in there, I thought Michael was going to hit Marko for a minute, Dwayne was working on calming them down when I left.”

He scowled, “What were they fighting over?”

“Marko wanted to put him in a pink sequined vest.”

David doubled over laughing, imagining how Michael would look dressed like that, “No, no pink, no wonder Michael wanted to deck him.” He leaned against his bike, “How much longer do you think?” He was still chuckling softly but was eager to get the night going.

“Not long, I think Michael knows what he wants to wear.” He paused, “You’ll like his pants.”

“Why do you say that?”

Paul grinned, “You’ll see.”

When the other three came out of the store and David got a good look at Michael’s new clothes he knew Paul was right. Soft leather pants, the perfect fit, and they’d last him a long time. He went simple with the rest, still his leather jacket but underneath a black shirt, he couldn’t tell what kind of sleeves it had on it, not with the jacket on, but he looked good, more like one of them.

“Michael, lookin’ good.” He grinned, clapping slowly, “Much better.”

“What’s on the menu tonight?” Michael grinned, feeling at ease now that he had David’s approval.

“Let’s see what we can dig up, I hear there’s a party at the beach, should we crash it?” His smile was bordering on cruel.

Marko let out a whoop of excitement, “Let’s go!” He pushed past Michael, “I still say the pink would have looked good on you.”

Michael snarled, reaching out to grab him but the smaller vampire darted away, hopping on his bike, “Let’s go!”

“Don’t worry, Michael, pink stands out too much, we want to blend in.” David grinned, nudging his shoulder, “Alright boys, mount up!”

 

-Sam-

 

The Frog brothers had told him about their conversation with David while Michael was eating dinner with them so when his mom said Max was coming over for dinner he had panicked. This was the head vampire, the big cheese, and he was coming to their house, probably wanted an invitation too. Sam wasn’t going to be the one to invite him that was for sure and there was no way he was going to eat dinner with just him and his mom, no way. So he did the only sensible thing, invited Edgar and Alan to dinner. At least he had a night to prepare, maybe he could find Michael, convince him to come but he was a blood sucker too. From with the brothers said though it sounded like David wanted to off Max, Sam could get behind that, he and his mom weren’t going to join the ranks of the undead, he wasn’t about to let that happen. They needed to be prepared, they needed to meet up and figure out what they were going to do. Edgar had said they were going to try to find David that night, talk to him some more about how to get rid of Max, and Sam really wished he could be there but now that Michael was moved out his mom didn’t want him running around by himself. Dinner would be good, introduce her to the brothers, then maybe she’d loosen up a little and let him go down to the boardwalk. He flipped through the vampire comic again, he really needed to get into town, maybe he could convince his mom over breakfast to take him with when she went in to work.

 

-Michael-

 

Michael was annoyed, the shopping trip had been interesting, except for Marko’s insistence that he should wear a pink sparkly vest. Dinner at least had gone well. They had just finished disposing of their latest meal and were sitting around the bonfire that had so kindly been left for them when David finally decided to speak, “So, Pauly caught me talking with a couple of meals on wheels, we’re getting rid of Max.” They all froze, looking at their leader in surprise, “He’s trouble and only going to cause more, so I sent the little wannabe vampire hunters after him, even told them the best way to do it.”

“Does Max have any idea?” Dwayne asked softly.

“No,” he looked at Michael, “but he’s going to your mom’s for dinner tomorrow, thought you might like to be there,” he grinned, “and I could be your date, finally meet your mom.” They all laughed except Michael, he actually looked a little scared, “Michael?”

“I can’t let him hurt them.” He unconsciously leaned a little closer to Paul who was sitting closest to him, taking a deep breath.

David rolled his eyes, “If we’re there, he won’t. I bet he knows you’d attack him if he tried anything, that’s why we need to be there.”

Paul inched a little closer, trying to make it as discreet as possible so Michael wouldn’t notice, “Don’t worry, Mikey, we’ve got your back.”

Michael took in another slow breath, “Okay, dinner tomorrow, we’ve got our invites.”

“Hey, Mikey, you got some blood on your cheek.” Paul leaned over and licked him, laughing as Michael jerked back, glaring at him and rubbing his cheek.

“Gross, asshole.” He punched the other vampire’s shoulder as Paul laughed.

“Ow.” He rubbed his shoulder, “Kid packs a punch.”

Their leader leaned back in the sand, watching the scene play out. Michael didn’t like being called a kid, sure compared to the others he really was but he didn’t like being reminded of it, “I’ll give you another one too if you call me a kid again.”

Their peacemaker pressed his way between them, “You’re both children, back off and behave.” Dwayne pushed them to either side, “If you can’t play nice, you can’t play at all.”

Paul leaned his head on Dwayne’s shoulder, “Oh, I can play nice, I can play real nice.” He grinned up at him and Dwayne planted his hand on his face and pushed him over.

There was no real way to tell how long they had been out there that night, talking, smoking the joint that Paul retrieved from his pocket, and relaxing. Michael felt closer to them than he had before, this was where he belonged, and he was sure that some of these feelings came from the pile they slept in and the blood exchange but he couldn’t bring himself to care about it. When he had come to Santa Carla he hadn’t expected this, of course the whole vampire thing was totally unexpected, but the feeling of belonging. He figured he’d make a few friends, find a job, maybe a girlfriend, but not something that he was really a part of. This was what he was missing in his life and living forever, as long as he had them it was going to be worth it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know what you think! Two chapters in one day, I don't usually do that but thought it might be a good idea to catch up in posting to what I have written.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which dinner is served and Michael learns the fine art of harassment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You got lucky I had so much done, it's gonna be a little bit for the next update, we shall see how long it takes for me to get another 5k words or so written! Please let me know what you think and I hope you enjoy!

-David-

 

It looked like they were the first to arrive, Max's car wasn't outside yet so they at least beat him. He let Michael lead the way to the door, following after with a smile on his face, he was really looking forward to dinner. Michael knocked before pushing the door open, they had an open invitation after all.

"Mom? Sam?" He shouted, looking around.

"Michael! Good thing you're here." Sam rushed over to him, "I was going to find you, you have to stay for dinner, Max is going to be here."

"I know, that's why we're here. Where's mom?"

Sam scowled, finally looking to see who came in with him, "What's he doing here?" He bit out, glaring at David.

"I'm sure mom wants to meet who I'm staying with and he's a good buffer between us and Max, he won't try anything with us here. You didn't answer my question, where's mom?" Michael was getting frustrated and David couldn't blame him, vampires were a little impulsive and Sam not answering set them both on edge, as though they wouldn't like the answer we got.

"She and Star went to go get some wine for dinner."

David narrowed his eyes, he'd forgotten Star was staying here, "There's someone else here, two someones," David paused, tipping his head back a bit and taking a slow breath, "the comic book brothers, you brought them here?" He laughed, "This is just perfect. Two wannabe hunters, three vampires, and two humans walk into a bar." Michael laughed with him and Sam looked nervous, "Don't worry little man, as long as you don't try to off Michael or I you're good. Won't harm a hair on your pretty little head."

The brothers in question appeared from the living room, eying David and Michael wearily. The blonde vampire gave them his best smile before chuckling softly, oh how he wanted to mess with them.

"I hope you aren't planning to do anything stupid." Michael eyed them, "No outing us to mom, no trying to prove Max is a vampire, we're just all going to have a nice dinner and when it's over we're gonna tell mom that we don't like Max, alright?" He had all three boys nodding, "Good."

The door creaked open behind them and the two vampires turned, coming face to face with Star and Lucy.

"Michael! It's so good to see you! We're going to have dinner, would you like to join us?" She looked at David, just seeming to notice him, "And introduce us to your friend."

"Mom, this is David." He looked at David, "This is my mom, Lucy."

David smiled, he knew how to charm just about anyone, even though he was dressed in black and wearing leather, that smile made him seem harmless, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Emerson."

Star was staying firmly behind the older woman, looking at David wearily, she didn't want to run the risk of him killing her. She glanced at Michael for a moment, blinking at his new clothes, before looking back at David. He knew what she was thinking and she could keep her life as long as she understood that Michael was his. After Max was dead he'd even be willing to buy her a bus ticket back to her parents.

"Michael, why don't you and your friend get the last of the groceries out of the car, I'm going to start on dinner."

David followed Michael out, eying Star as he walked past, tonight would be interesting, he couldn't deny that, "Star's afraid of you." Michael said, glancing at the house

"She should be, not gonna hurt her now though, she'll be out of the way once Max is gone." He paused, looking thoughtful, "Although, if she doesn't leave, well, that's her fault then, isn't it?"

"I don't understand what your problem with her is." He headed for the door, bags in hand.

"She doesn't know when to leave things alone."

They got everything unloaded into the kitchen and Lucy set to work. David decided to take the time to do a little exploring. Sam and the brothers were sitting in the living room, huddled together talking in hushed whispers, he’d be back for them, Star was in the kitchen with Lucy, he had a feeling she’d be staying as close to her as she could while David was there, and Michael had been roped into helping as well. He slowly ran his fingers along the back of the couch, there was someone else here too but he couldn’t quite tell where.

“Hello, boys.” He grinned down at the three boys, “Who else is here?”

Sam swallowed hard, “Uh, my grandpa’s out back in the shed.”

“He going to be joining us for dinner?”

“Probably not, I dunno, he doesn’t usually.” He paused for a moment, “Can’t you just, I dunno, go away, like walk into the sun or something?”

David couldn’t help but laugh, “Sorry, kid, not gonna happen, besides, you’re too much fun to play with.”

“How do we get to not be fun to play with?” Sam grumbled.

The smile that spread across his lips promised pain, “You die or give up.” The three boys gulped, “But you’re not gonna do that, are you? Better to keep me entertained after all. Who knows, you could be saving lives.” That seemed to get their attention, “I eat less when I’m entertained.”

Sam looked at the Frog brothers, “We can entertain him a little, can’t we?” He whispered but David heard him anyway.

“Saving lives, protecting the American way, right?” Alan asked softly.

“Yeah, until we can kill him, right?” Sam looked at Edgar.

“Yeah, sounds right.” He nodded, glancing at David.

He clapped his hands together, “Good, so, entertain me until dinner.”

They froze, staring at him. Sadly, they were saved by Lucy shouting from the kitchen, “Boys, come set the table, Max should be here soon.” They couldn’t get up fast enough, leaving David leaning against the couch.

A knock on the door made David grin, “Want me to get that Mrs. Emerson?”

“Thank you, David.”

He grinned, heading for the door. In one smooth movement he opened the door, smiling at the man behind it, “Hello, Max, how are you tonight?” He gave his best good boy impression which was hard considering the look on his face was priceless, “Mrs. Emerson, it’s Max.”

She came around the corner, smiling brightly, “Let him in, David!” She was practically glowing and a little part of David felt bad for what he had planned for Max.

“You heard the lady, come in, Max.” David stepped aside, motioning for him to enter.

“What are you doing here, David?” His voice was a low hiss.

He chuckled softly, “Michael invited me for dinner, who was I to deny him?”

Max narrowed his eyes at him before putting his mask back on and smiling at Lucy, the perfect gentleman come for dinner. Michael eyed Max over Lucy’s shoulder, glaring at him for a moment before bringing food to the table. Sam and the brothers finished setting the table, Sam sitting to one side of Lucy and Michael on the other. David placed himself next to Michael, shielding him from Star, Max was at the end of the table, and the brothers were next to Sam. He had to admit it was an interesting arrangement, vampires on one side humans on the other.

“Smells wonderful, Mrs. Emerson.” He looked at Max out of the corner of his eye, could see a subtle twitch at the corner of his eye. He had a feeling that Max had planned to dose them with his blood that night, he wouldn’t now though, too many witnesses and too much risk of it going wrong, “It’s been awhile since I had a home cooked meal, tend to live off take out.” Michael glared at him, no doubt thinking about the Chinese food incident.

“What is it that you do, David?” Lucy smiled at him, was making an effort to get to know him at least. He was sure she was asking because she wanted to make sure Michael was living with a decent guy.

He had to think of something good, wasn’t prepared to be put on the spot, figured tonight would be all about Max, “I work in the next town over, repairing bikes.” It wasn’t exactly a lie, he did keep the bikes in good repair, they all did really and Michael would have to learn too.

“That sounds nice.” She smiled.

“So, Max,” Michael looked down the table at him, “what do you think of our little family?” He took a bite of spaghetti.

Max gave them a little smile, “I think you’re lucky to have a mother as kind as Lucy is.”

“What do you want with our mom?” Sam’s words ran together.

The old vampire let out a soft chuckle, “I’d like to keep spending time with her and maybe we can see where it leads to.” He smiled at Lucy, seemed to have eyes only for her.

David rolled his eyes, “Should take her for Chinese.” Michael glared at him again, “One of Michael’s favorite foods.”

“Michael, you never said that whenever I asked you to pick dinner you never picked Chinese.” Lucy looked upset, like she didn’t know something about her son.

“David’s exaggerating, I don’t like Chinese that much.” He wasn’t going to tell her that it was because David made him see rice as maggots and noodles as worms, “He’s just being a dick.”

“Michael!” She scolded, “Watch your mouth.”

David kicked him under the table, “Yeah, Michael, watch your mouth.” He chuckled softly. A soft growl escaped Michael’s lips and David nudged him again, ‘Easy.’ His voice was soft, his left hand reaching out and grasping his thigh, squeezing gently, giving him something to focus on, to ground him.

His fledgling took in a slow breath, ‘I’m good.’

He nodded, “So, Star,” he looked over at her and Michael shook his head, “how’re things?”

“F-Fine, fine, I’ve been taking care of the house for Lucy and watching Sam.”

He chuckled softly, “No long nights? Sleeping alright?”

In an instant she seemed to grow a backbone, “I’m sleeping just fine, thank you for asking.”

“Good, just checking, seems like here is good for you.”

She nodded, “It is.”

He kept an eye on Max throughout dinner, wouldn’t let him get up to pour wine, he took care of it instead, insisting vehemently that Max was the guest of honor. He even kept an eye on them from the door when Lucy escorted him to his car. Once Max left he went back inside to see how the rest were doing. Sam and Michael were sitting across from their mother, the pair looking determined.

“I don’t like him.” Michael stated, Sam nodding in agreement.

“Me either.”

“Boys, please, just give him a chance. He’s a very nice man.”

They both scowled, “He’s creepy.” That was Sam.

He leaned against the door frame, keeping quiet, letting the boys try to talk their mother out of seeing him again, ‘Everything going fine?’

‘Yeah, she’s being stubborn.’ Michael sighed, “Just, be careful, alright?”

She smiled at him, “I will be.”

‘Ready to go?’ He was ready to get out of there, didn’t want to spend anymore time among the humans, would much rather be out hunting or stalking some teenager on the boardwalk.

Michael got to his feet, moving around the table and kissing her cheek, “I love you.” He headed for the door before calling back to Sam, “Don’t do anything stupid!”

He walked past David and the other vampire followed, heading for their bikes, “Nice family.”

Michael rolled his eyes, “I can’t tell if you’re being sarcastic or not.”

“I’m serious, they’re nice enough, for humans.” He started his bike, “I think your mom likes me.” He chuckled as Michael started his up.

“Where’re we going?”

David spun his bike around and took off, knowing Michael would follow, ‘The boys already went out and ate, are you hungry?’

‘I’m fine, what’re we doing?”

He chuckled softly, knowing that Michael really was hungry, they always were in the beginning, ‘Let me know if that changes, for now we’re going back to the hotel.’ He could feel that Michael was a little disappointed, ‘It’s late, it won’t be as much fun to take a trip to the boardwalk. Tomorrow night we will start teaching you the great fun in harassing the natives.’ He chuckled softly, ‘They aren’t afraid of us for nothing.’

Michael shook his head, ‘And here I told my mom we weren’t a gang.’

He tossed his head back and laughed, ‘We are the best kind of gang,’ he grinned, ‘a vampire gang.’ He let out a howl into the night, laughing and Michael joined him, tonight was a good night.

 

-Michael-

 

He woke up wrapped in David’s coat, still in bed. The others were already up and moving, it was almost like they were preparing something. He sat up slowly, keeping the coat around him, the smell was comforting. He scowled, couldn’t really understand why David’s scent was so calming. David had said that scent bound them together, helped make them pack, but why did David’s scent in particular have such an affect on him?

“Michael’s up!” David shouted, from his place in his chair. Michael got to his feet to a chorus of cheers, “Have a good nap? Come on, things to do, people to see!”

“People to eat.” Marko laughed, grinning wildly.

He threw David’s coat at him as he got out of bed, “Okay, so I get the whole scent bonding thing but now you’re shoving your coat over me?”

David eyed him, catching his coat, “Kept you asleep a little longer, if I had just gotten up you would have gotten up and I wasn’t quite ready for that yet. Just deal with it, you gotta get used to my scent because it’s not going away any time soon.”

He scowled, “What’re you planning?”

“We were deciding what we wanted to do tonight! Gotta teach you the fine art of harassment.” Paul grinned at him, “There’s a new security guy at the boardwalk, I think he’d be fun to mess with but Marko was saying we should find some drunks instead.”

Michael raised an eyebrow, “So, you’re fighting over who the victim of the night is?”

Marko shrugged, “Pretty much.”

David shook his head, “Let’s go, boys.” He shrugged his coat on.

The roar of their bikes echoed through the night air as they spend toward town, it was just as exhilarating as it was the first night, and Michael wondered if he’d ever get tired of it. They always parked in the same space, so when they got to the boardwalk and discovered that their spot had been taken, David was livid. The boys could practically feel the anger rolling off of him. Following David’s lead, they parked a bit away from the other bikes before dismounting and standing behind their leader. It was an automatic reaction, banding behind David as he thought about what exactly he was going to do about the problem. Six bikes were parked side by side, not as nice as theirs, but good bikes, it looked like they had seen a lot of road, so not locals. It looked like they had found their play toys for the night.

“Find them.” He glared at the bikes before moving into the crowd.

Michael blinked, looking at Dwayne, “So, how do we find them?”

The second in command tapped the side of his nose, “Come with me.”

Paul and Marko split off while Michael went with Dwayne. They weaved through the crowds, the dark vampire stopping every now and then, taking a deep breath. Michael watched with interest, it was hard for him to pick out individual scents in a crowd but Dwayne seemed to have no problem with it. A scowl crossed his face as he slid through the crowd, Michael close behind him.

‘What is it?’ He wasn’t sure he’d be able to hear him over the roar of the crowd and the music.

‘The scent, it disappeared.’ Dwayne took in another deep breath, ‘Come on, let’s get back to the bikes and meet up with the others.’

David was standing by the invader’s bikes, arms crossed over his chest, staring at them, ‘Lost the scent, could be other vampires or we just got unlucky and there’re too many people out tonight.’ He looked at Dwayne and Michael, “Looks like we’re going to wait for them to show up unless Paul and Marko found anything.” Part of Michael couldn’t understand why there was such a problem with someone else parking in their spot but another part agreed with his pack mates, this was theirs, they had taken something that belonged to them. Why was he suddenly so territorial? He looked to the others for answers, they had to know he was confused. David finally turned his attention to Michael, “We are territorial, this is ours and someone dares try to take it from us. Just like you are mine, the boys are mine, this town is mine.” His voice was a low growl, eyes narrowed, “We just have to make that clear,” he turned back to the bikes, “and if we can’t find them then we’ll just have to focus on what we can find.” He smiled darkly as Paul and Marko came back, “Find anything?”

“Found a couple of drunks but the scent from these guys is gone.”

“So, what’re we gonna do?” Michael asked, everyone’s gaze was focused on those bikes.

Paul grinned at him, “Mark our property.”

David was moving forward, fishing a small knife out of his pocket, flipping it open to reveal a sharp blade, “Get to carving boys.”

Michael kept lookout, watching the crowd for anyone coming their way, for seeing what they were doing as the others began to cut into the bikes, scratching the paint, ripping the seats, anything to get their point across. Dwayne and David each got to do two and as they were starting on the last one he saw someone, a group of someones, coming out of the crowd, ‘They’re coming.’

There were six men and two girls, the men were all dressed in leather, a couple had chains hanging on their jackets, and the girls were in tight shorts and halter tops. David stepped in front of the others, a shark like smile on his face and his arms crossed over his chest as they waited. The biker leader looked a little scruffy and he was obviously the leader by the way he started moving faster when he saw the five of them standing in front of the bikes.

“Hey! Hey you! Get away from my bike!”

David grinned but said nothing. Paul on the other hand had something to say, “Oh? These your bikes? I wouldn’t be caught dead driving something like this.” He laughed, the others joining with him.

The people on the boardwalk who knew better than to mess with the boys froze, turning to watch the tableau before them, fear in their eyes. An older man came forward, trying to get the biker’s attention, “Son, you don’t want to do this.”

The biker glared at him, “Those bastards ruined my bike!”

He shook his head, “Just leave it, it’s not a good idea to make them angry.”

“Oh, it’s too late for that.” David chuckled darkly, “You kind of took our spot.”

The man snorted, “Didn’t see your name on it.” His companions were close behind him, presenting an united front, “We were just passing through but thinkin’ we might stay here. Bet the people would love to see you gone.”

They all laughed, the sound unnerving as it rolled over the crowd. Most of the crowd was paying attention to the concert and the vampires were fine with that, it didn’t take much to make an impression, “Hmm, maybe, but it’s gonna take a lot more than you to get rid of us.” David smiled, “We’re willing to let it slide, I mean, you don’t know any better, everyone can just go their own ways, this doesn’t have to end bad, right Paul?”

The blonde grinned, “Aww, but I was hoping they’d pick the hard way.”

Marko shook his head, “They never pick the easy way.”

Michael smirked, “You really wanna pick the easy way, the hard way just…Trust me, you don’t want the hard way.” He looked at Dwayne, “They’re gonna pick the hard way, aren’t they?”

“They always do.”

The leader was standing toe to toe with David now, the vampire looking at him calmly, “If we’re going to do this, let’s take a little trip to the beach, don’t want to bloody up the boardwalk.” He pushed past the biker, heading for the stairs, “Let’s go boys, time for a good old fashioned brawl.”

Michael was the first to follow him, the others close behind, laughing at the bikers. Part of him was worried that they would follow them, he already knew they weren’t likely to live the night, but there was still a bit of humanity in him and even though they invaded their territory he didn’t want to kill them. As David said, they didn’t know better, but they followed, were the only ones that came down the stairs with them.

‘Are we going to kill them here?’ He was a little worried that the answer would be yes.

‘No, gonna beat the shit out of them and let them lick their wounds for a little bit, then we’ll take care of them.’ David glanced back at him, ‘They’ll probably take off, be on the road, much easier to get rid of them out there.’ He paused, turning to face everyone, ‘Scared, Michael?’

He shook his head, ‘Don’t want people to find out what we are.’

“So, how do you want to do this? Us against you? One on one?” David smirked, the two girls had stayed up on the boardwalk, were locals and knew better than to get involved. He got his answer when one of the biker’s buddies ran forward and punched Paul, “All in then.”

It was chaos, Michael found himself fighting with a burly man, close to double his size. It had been awhile since he’d been in a fight against someone bigger than him. Sure, when he went to school he protected Sam, but those bullies tended to be smaller than him. David had two of them on him, didn’t seem to be having trouble at all, in fact he was laughing when one of them punched him across the face. Michael knew that each punch that landed on their leader he let land, David was fast, would have no trouble taking out a couple of humans. He let the burly biker get a hit in, laughing when he doubled over from the force of it. It hurt but not as much as he thought it should.

“Was that supposed to hurt?” He laughed, getting a back hand for his trouble. He cut his lip on his teeth, licking the blood up slowly, “This is how you throw a punch.” He swung, impacting his face, watching as his head whiplashed to the side. He hadn’t hit hard enough to snap his neck but he spit a few teeth onto the sand, blood sliding down his skin and in that moment he realized he was hungry, very hungry.

A soft growl escaped his lips and his tongue flicked out to taste his own blood again. Just before he was about to pounce David was there, pulling him back, getting between the two of them. He knew his fangs were out, his eyes golden, he wanted that blood, wanted it now, why didn’t David understand that? He growled at his sire, eyes narrowed angrily when he received a shake of the head in response.

“Easy.” He whispered, “Get yourself under control.”

After a few shaky breaths he calmed down enough, looking around and realizing the fighting had stopped. His brothers were surrounding him, the scent calming, knowing he was safe and wasn’t going to lose it, now wasn’t the time to feed. He looked past them at the bikers, watching as they picked themselves off the sand and regrouped, looking at them in fear. Michael smiled at them, licking the blood off his lips again as they fled. David grasped his chin, tipping his head back to face him, leaning forward and licking the last bits of blood off his chin and lips, growling softly.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Michael makes a mistake and Sam and the Frogs pay a visit to Max.

-David-

 

Waiting for Michael to be ready was hard, the little tastes he got every now and then made his patience worth it though. He gave a final lick to his lips, catching the last bit of spilt blood. Michael had almost lost it and part of David wished he had, wanted to see him tear them apart. He would have his wish when they went after the bikers, the scent of fear hung heavy around them and wouldn't go away until they were well out of town.

"Good?" He met Michael's eyes, watching the gold dissipate, the young vampire nodded, "Good." He let go of his chin, "Alright boys! Let's go hunt us some bikers!" They let out a whoop and he chuckled softly, "Gotta make sure they left first."

They headed back up to the boardwalk, keeping an eye out for the bikers. Most of the people ignored them but those who were paying attention and saw them walk past were very obviously afraid. David loved the smell of their fear, it added a certain spice to the blood, and once those bikers saw what was in store for them he was sure they would be scared. They got back to their bikes, seeing that the invaders were gone. David was the first to mount up, grinning at them before taking off. The others gave chase. They had to get away from the city before they could safely fly after them. They parked at the bluff before following their scent. Flying was one of the best things about being a vampire, the wind whipping at them, they were above everything. It didn't take long for them to find the bikers. They had relaxed, seemed to be having a good ride, well, David just couldn't have that. He cut in front of them, landing on the road, eyes golden as the bikes barreled toward him.

"Shit!" The leader swerved, barely avoiding him, David's arm snapped out, grabbing him by the back of his coat and jerking him off his bike.

"Kenny!" One of them shouted as all of them came to a screeching halt, he was running at David, not seeming to realize who he was.

"Dinner's arrived boys! Dig in." With that he drove his fangs in.

The others were on them in a flash, feeding hungrily, the one who shouted for Kenny was he only one running wild and he was running. For some reason he decided not taking his bike was the best thing to do and was on foot. David chuckled softly, dropping Kenny to the ground before walking down the road after the runaway.

"Are you a man or a mouse?" He chuckled, licking blood off his fingers, "Because if you're a mouse, that just doesn't sound like good eating. Wanna know what your friend Kenny tasted like?" He could hear how fast the man's heart was going, pounding in his chest, pumping adrenaline through his body, "Fear, anger, he almost pissed himself when he saw me in the road." He laughed, "Best taste in the world." He darted forward, standing in front of him in an instant. The man screamed, actually full out screamed and David laughed, "Boo!"

The man turned the other way to run only to see his friends being torn apart and fed on, "No, no, no, no, no, no, this can't be happening."

David stepped forward laying a hand on his shoulder, "Oh, it's happening."

"David," Marko was whining again, "Michael won't share."

He rolled his eyes, watching as Michael growled over his kill, "You have your own."

"He stopped begging, took all the fun out of it."

"Marko, stop playing with your food." Dwayne growled.

The man fell to his knees, crying and shaking, "We could let you live." David said, examining his nails. The man looked up at him, hopeful, as if David would actually let him live, "Oh, yeah, we definitely could let you live." He looked at his pack, "Michael, come here."

His youngest stood, moving toward him, he was quite the messy eater, "Yeah?" He looked down at the human, licking blood off his fingers.

"Are you still hungry?" Michael nodded in response, "Should we let this one go or would you like to eat him?"

Michael looked thoughtful and the human looked up at him, his eyes pleading before his mouth joined in, "Please, let me go, I-I wouldn't taste very good, please, I won't tell anyone, I'll leave and never come back, I promise, just please let me go."

David chuckled softly, waiting for Michael's reply. He was pretty sure that his fledgling was going to eat the guy, the hunger wasn't fun to live with and if there was someone handy to eat, well, why not? Michael crouched down so he was eye level with the man, he was drawing it out, making the man sweat.

"Hey, if Michael doesn't want him, can I have him?" Paul grinned, licking his lips.

"Or maybe we can share him?" Of course Marko had to give his opinion too.

He chuckled, looking over at them, "Totally up to Michael, he gets to decide what we do with this one."

"I've decided." Michael said, grinning, "You're gonna be," he paused for a moment, drawing it out, "dessert!" He pounced and the man screamed, struggling beneath him.

David and the others watched with interest as Michael fed, "Growing boy needs his food." The hunger would lessen eventually but right now his fledgling was always going to be hungry. At least it was still summer and there were plenty of tourists to keep that hunger sated, "I think red is Michael's color, I really do." He wanted to lick the blood off him, taste his skin beneath the metal tang of blood, but he knew Michael still wasn't ready yet, "Finish up and let's get rid of the bodies, bikes too, we can dump them off a cliff, make it look like an accident.”

They took care of the bodies while Michael finished up his meal. Once he was done they took care of it and headed back to the hotel. It had been a good night, what could make it better was to go back to take what he wanted, but Michael wasn’t there yet. It would take some more coaxing, more subtlety, but he was coming along, maybe he would steal another kiss when they got back. Marko and Paul were the first ones in, with Dwayne close behind, Michael had stayed back with him.

“Wasn’t the best harass the locals lesson but we got our point across. Was fun.” David chuckled softly.

Michael nodded, “Yeah, actually, didn’t think I would.”

David raised an eyebrow, “Really?” He crossed his arms over his chest.

“I felt a little, guilty, at first.”

His eyes narrowed slightly, “You’ll be fine.” It was a little worrying, he shouldn’t be feeling guilt at all, but at least he worked through it and didn’t balk at eating dinner.

Michael sat down on edge of the fountain before laying out along the rim. This would be the perfect moment, David walked over, looking down at him. Michael’s eyes were closed as David leaned down and kissed him. His eyes snapped open in surprise but it only took a moment for him to relax under the elder vampire’s lips.

“Pay up, Pauly.” Marko was grinning, holding his hand out as they watched the pair kiss softly.

One soft lick to pliant lips and he pulled away, grinning down at the brunette vampire, “Mmm, I could get used to that.”

 

-Michael-

 

He told himself he was going to wake up early, that he needed to be the first awake. Of course that didn’t happen, he actually had no control over it, but he wanted some time to think without the others around. Twice David had kissed him and he’d let him. He could have pushed him away but didn’t. Then there were the times David had licked blood off him, he didn’t really count those as kissing, he had even done it to David. He kept telling himself he didn’t like men but it just didn’t hold the same weight as it did before, he was changing and he didn’t understand it. He needed space and time to think but the boys didn’t seem inclined to give it to him so he was forced to just go with it.

Once again he was the last one up, the others were awake, talking and laughing, but Paul was still draped over his legs, keeping him pinned down. He rolled his eyes, shaking his legs a little, trying to get the blonde vampire off his legs. All he got in response was a laugh, “Earthquake! We’re gonna sink deeper into the crack!”

Michael growled, giving him a firm kick, finally knocking him off the end of the bed, “What’s with you and keeping me pinned? You know, David’s gonna get jealous.” He smirked, why not use David’s apparent attraction to him against the other boys?

Dwayne laughed, “He’s got a point Paul.”

“I’m hungry.” Michael said, swinging his legs over the side of the bed, it felt like he was always hungry now.

David got up from his wheel chair throne, “Let’s go find you someone to eat.”

“Why do I have to eat every day but you don’t?”

His sire wrapped an arm around his shoulders, “It’s only been a few days, not even a week yet. Your body’s still changing, needs more food to keep up, so you feed nightly until it’s done.”

“Are we always going to sleep in a pile? I’m getting tired of Paul laying on me all day.”

He shook his head, taking the stairs two at a time, “Nope, not always, gonna go in the back once you’re done changing and then you get to learn how we really like to sleep.”

The young vampire wasn’t sure he liked the sound of that, “Going to the boardwalk?” He straddled his bike, looking at their leader.

“Not tonight, tonight we’re going to the next town over. Too many people disappearing day after day draws too much attention. Sure, Santa Carla is the murder capital of the world but moderation! We want people to keep visiting after all.” He started up his bike.

The others hadn’t come up yet, “They coming?” He nodded his head toward the stairs.

“Hurry up, boys! Let’s get going!” David revved the engine.

Finally they came up the stairs, Marko and Paul shoving at each other. Dwayne was following behind them, shaking his head but laughing, until Marko pushed Paul off the side of the stairs. He flailed, eyes wide, as he toppled over the side. Michael craned his neck to see if he caught himself or not. Paul was glaring at Marko, hovering a few inches off the rocks. They all laughed, watching as Paul came back up, giving Marko a shove before getting on his bike.

“Now children.” David chuckled, using his best parent impression, “If you’re gonna push someone over a cliff, make sure they can’t fly first, it’s no fun without the crash at the end.”

Marko grinned at Paul, “You heard the man! Next time don’t fly!”

Paul gave him the finger before gunning his bike and taking off. The others were after him a split second later, David passing him to take his place at the front of the pack. Even though it would be the perfect time to hang back or go off on his own to think Michael couldn’t bring himself to do it. He was drawn to the others and didn’t want to go off on his own.

‘Michael.’ David’s voice rang through his head, drawing his attention back to what they were doing.

He hadn’t realized he had been lost in his thoughts, mindlessly following the others, ‘What?’

David was looking at him from over his shoulder, not focusing on the road at all, ‘Stop thinking so hard, go with it.’

That was easy for him to say, he hadn’t had his life turned upside down because someone had decided he should drink blood out of a wine bottle. He glared at him, ‘Bite me.’

Suddenly all eyes were on him, he hadn’t realized it wasn’t just David that could hear him, ‘That can be arranged.’ David’s eyes narrowed, ‘We’re almost there.’ He turned back to the road, ‘We’re gonna have a little talk later tonight.’

That ‘little talk’ worried Michael the most. There was something malicious in those words, a dark promise, and he really didn’t want to find out what he meant. The hunt was easy enough, grab a couple homeless people off the street and feed. It was on their way home that things became more difficult. Everyone was silent, an air of tension surrounding them, and Michael knew it was his fault. The night had started out so well but he had to go and ruin it with his confusion. He didn’t deal with being confused well, everything was changing and he didn’t know how to deal with it. Things had been normal, he was living in the sun, and then, in one instant, everything changed. David was the first one down the stairs and into the hotel, he stood in the middle of the room, arms crossed over his chest, as the others filed in. They were all on edge, looking at David, waiting for him to do whatever it was he had planned.

“David, I…” He trailed off, swallowing hard as he was pinned by those ice blue eyes. He scowled slightly, why was he deferring to him all the time? He stood up straight, “I don’t get what’s happening but that’s no reason to get pissed off at me.” He snarled, now he was angry.

He raised an eyebrow, eyes locked on his fledgling, “Look down and I’ll let this slide.” If he did that he would be admitting he was submissive to David and right now he didn’t feel very submissive at all. He refused to break, refused to look down, David was going to have to force him, to make him submit if that’s what he really wanted, “You want to do this the hard way? Fine.” His lips pulled back in a snarl before he darted forward and slammed into Michael.

The air whooshed out of him as he hit the ground, he growled, grabbing at the other vampire, trying to turn them over, to show that he was stronger, that he could win. David snarled as Michael managed to switch their positions. He could hear the others distantly, betting on who was going to win, he had to prove them wrong, he had to win. The blonde vampire brought his legs up, planting them on his chest and pushing, following his momentum to pin him on his back before spinning him around while he was dazed, pressing his body against Michael’s back. He bucked beneath him, trying to get some leverage, to throw him off, until David drove his teeth into the back of his neck, pinning him with body and bite, asserting his dominance. Michael went still, whimpering softly as his skin tore around sharp teeth. As David pressed against him he realized something, they were both hard. He swallowed hard, staying perfectly still, he wouldn’t panic, he was totally under control, no one needed to know that he was getting off on this display of dominance. He felt his head tip as David licked the wounds, catching the trickles of blood that spilled across his skin, wringing another whimper from his lips. After what felt like forever, David finally let him up. He refused to move for a little bit, willing his traitorous dick to go down before getting to his feet. He couldn’t hide it but no one said anything, no one seemed to care that he was worked up. It was kind of a relief, he had expected Paul or Marko to point and laugh, make fun of him, but there was nothing.

“Come here, Michael.” David had settled into his usual spot. He could still feel blood sliding down his neck as he walked over to their pack leader, refusing to meet his gaze, “Sit.” He didn’t need to say anything else, Michael knew where he wanted him to sit. He settled on his lap, head still bowed, “I get it, you’re confused, but don’t challenge me, I will take you down. I warned you last time that you wouldn’t like what would happen.” His fingers slid over his thighs, “But you like it, you like being put in your place, don’t you, Michael?” He started to shake his head but David growled, “Don’t lie to me, better to keep your mouth shut than lie.” His neck throbbed from the bite, David had torn the wound wide when he bit him, blood trickled down his throat, which David lapped up, “You don’t have to answer, I know you do. I’m giving you time to adapt, just let go and it’ll be easier. You’re not one of them anymore, what matters to them doesn’t matter to us. Stop fighting so hard to understand and just be.” He nodded mutely, “Good, now go relax.”

Slowly he stood after David gave his neck a parting lick, he went to the fountain, settling beside Marko. The blonde patted him on the shoulder, "Won't be long before you're wearing a collar of bites." He grinned, "Scar number two!"

Michael couldn't bring himself to glare at the other vampire, "I don't know why I challenged him."

"Happens to us all, there's always a phase where you wanna be the boss, even if you don't know what that means."

"I don't want to be the boss though, I'm just," he growled softly, "confused."

He patted him on the shoulder again, "It'll work out, won't be much longer before you're totally settled in, just gotta let go."

He figured it would be Dwayne who would calm him down, not Marko, but the smaller vampire was doing just fine at getting him to relax. In all honesty he was scared, scared of becoming a monster, scared of his mom and brother seeing the darker side of him, they went to the boardwalk all the time, he'd been lucky so far but for how long? If he let go would he be letting go of his family too? Something inside him said yes, that this was his family now, David and the boys. He didn't want to lose them and would fight to hold onto them for as long as he could.

A sigh escaped his lips, "I'm tired."

David moved quickly, standing over him, "Blood exchange, then sleep." Another sigh escaped his lips as he bit into David's throat. The others followed suit, wrists bitten, and blood drank, "Go get comfortable, Michael."

He curled up on the bed, closing his eyes. It didn't take long for the others to join him, curling around him protectively.

 

-Sam-

 

He was nervous. The three boys stood outside of Max’s house, staring at the gate. They were armed, stakes, holy water, crosses, everything they might need to take out one of the evil undead. The dog, Thorn, was sitting in front of the door, staring at them. The white dog hadn’t moved an inch since they got there a half hour ago. Sam had a bag with a big steak and bone in it but none of them felt ready to actually go in there and do the deed. The brothers were staring at Sam as though it was up to him when they went in there.

“What?” He stared back at them, it was a good thing Max lived out of the way so people wouldn’t notice the three boys standing outside of someone’s house with a bag of steak.

“You have the meat, you distract the dog.” Edgar looked at him as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Sam looked at Thorn, swallowing hard as the dog tipped his head to the side, sizing him up, “Hi, Thorn.” He stepped forward and Thorn growled, stalking forward slowly. He reached into the bag, pulling out the steak, unlocking the gate, holding it forward, “Want the steak?” Edgar and Alan slid in behind him, “Come ‘ere Thorn.” The dog stepped forward, coming down off the porch, letting the brothers sneak into the house while he snagged the steak out of Sam’s hand, “Good boy.” He stood, watching him chow down on the meat, “I got a bone for you too.” There was a shout and a crash from inside, making Sam cringe, and Thorn glanced back at the door, “It’s okay buddy, eat your steak.” He pulled the bone out, “It’s all good.” Thorn turned back to the steak, chewing on it again, “Good boy.”

There was another crash and then a window flew open and Edgar and Alan stuck their heads out, grinning down at Sam, “Truth, justice, and the American way baby!” Edgar grinned.

They were covered in something, looked pretty disgusting, “Get down here and let’s go! You guys are gross!”

Thorn had switched over to the bone by the time the boys got outside. They were out the gate in a flash, rushing down the street. Sam felt like he’d gotten the easy job, watch the dog, at least he didn’t get covered in whatever vampire gross the Frogs were coated in. They were cheering, running down the street, and now Sam couldn’t help but be worried that someone was going to see them. How could they explain, whatever this was?

Edgar punched him in the shoulder, “Hey, vampire slime!” He rubbed his hand down his cheek, smearing goo over his face.

“Gross!” He hit him back, “Keep your hands to yourself!” They went back to Sam’s, wanting to avoid as many people as possible. Lucy was off at work and Grandpa was in the shed so they had the run of house, “You’re gonna have to wear some of my clothes, I think I might have something that’ll fit you guys.” He went for the sink, washing the slime off of himself, “Go use the bathroom.” He pointed to the door, “Go, you smell gross too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was going to wait until I had more done but I had a lot of fun with this part. I feel so sorry for Michael but David's making headway! Please let me know what you think! Next part will probably feature more headway with Michael and Lucy still needs to learn the truth about Santa Carla and the Lost Boys but I'm not sure when that's going to happen.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which David pushes the point and Michael gets high.

-David-

 

He could feel that there was something different when he woke up that night. Something had happened while they were sleeping, he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. Michael and the boys were still asleep, his youngest, curled against David’s chest. The wound he had left on his neck had scarred over, it was nice to see his mark on his boy. He liked the sound of that, his boy. A soft chuckle escaped his lips as he gently touched the mark, tracing the ridges left by his teeth. He was going to take a trip to visit Max, see if he felt anything weird when he woke up. Slowly he extricated himself from Michael’s arms, pulling his coat on and heading out into the night. The moment he got there he knew something was wrong, Thorn was curled up on the porch chewing on a bone. Was he going to have to bind the dog to him now? He scratched between his ears as he went past, heading inside. The usually pristine house was a mess, curtains were pulled down, there was a huge rip in the couch, something big had happened here, the question was, who won? He whistled softly, heading toward the bedroom. There was a nice body shaped ash pile. Looks like Max had a meeting with the sun. He chuckled softly, nudging it with his foot, the town was theirs now. No more having to worry about Max and his little family obsession, the boardwalk was theirs. He was going to have to take care of Thorn but he couldn’t let all that money go to waste. Knowing the combination for the safe came in handy, even if he didn’t know it with their improved hearing safes were pretty easy to crack. Taking the safe would probably be better but that would have to wait, for now he pocketed a couple stacks of cash before heading back outside.

He looked down at Thorn, “Hey, good bone?” Thorn grinned up at him and he shook his head, “Wanna come home with me?” The white dog sat back on his haunches, looking up at David. He barked softly, “Yeah, you do, don’t you? Now that Max is gone, you’re gonna have fun with us.” He slit open his palm, holding it out to the dog. It took a moment for Thorn to decide if he wanted to or not, if he wanted to be David’s. When he finally lapped up the blood the vampire grinned, “Good boy, let’s go back to the cave.” They walked outside, it was a good thing he had decided to fly, it made it possible to walk back with Thorn. The boys would be up and about by the time he got back. It didn’t take them that long to get back to the hotel, the pair heading down the stairs, “Boys! Good news!” He walked in, looking around, spotting his pack lounging around, Michael was in the wheelchair, rocking back and forth slowly, Paul was smoking another joint, while Dwayne and Marko were playing cards.

All eyes turned to him then looked at Thorn, “Thorn!” Marko grinned and Thorn trotted over to him, laying his head in his lap, “Hey buddy, Max let you come over and play?” Thorn whined softly, “Hey, what’s wrong?”

“Max is dead.” David said, moving over to the boys, “I think those kids finally got around to taking care of him.” He rubbing the top of Thorn’s head before sitting on the edge of the fountain, “So, I brought Thorn to come stay with us.”

Michael got up, moving to crouch beside the white dog, “There was something about hellhounds in one of Sam’s stupid comics.” He held out his hand to let him sniff, “You a hellhound, buddy?”

David took his chair back, “You could call him that. He’s bound to me, so bound to us, he’ll live as long as we do and protect us,” he paused, grinning, “hopefully he likes us more than he liked Max.” Thorn looked offended, “Hey, don’t give me that, you let him die for a steak and a bone, that was your price for him, I hope ours is a little higher.”

Thorn licked Michael's hand before nudging it, demanding pets. Michael smiled, rubbing behind his ears, "You're a good boy." He licked his hand again, "Don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

"So, what's the plan tonight? Anyone have any suggestions?" David rubbed his hands together, looking at his boys. Michael looked like he wanted to say something it stopped himself, "Michael, go ahead, let's hear it."

"I'm hungry." He growled softly, disgruntled with the fact he had to eat so often.

David grinned at him, "You and I are gonna try something tonight, see if you like it." What he had in mind Michael would enjoy but there was no way he'd want to admit it. He needed to lower his fledgling's inhibitions, loosen him up, in more ways than one, "We'll head out, the rest of you can do whatever you want."

Paul smirked, "And if we wanted to go with you?"

The smirk on David's face was an exact mirror of Paul's, "Then you come with us."

Making a vampire more pliant was difficult, drugs didn’t have the same effect, neither did alcohol, unless it was in the system of whoever you decided to eat. David’s plan was simple, find a meal that was drunk or high and have Michael eat it. It was a little underhanded, he could admit that, but he was also a little impatient. He needed to show Michael it could be good before letting loose. Vampire mating was violent and bloody but so much more fulfilling. Michael was still too trapped in his humanity to let go that much, still balked at the thought of sleeping with a man, it was his duty to show him how awesome it could be.

He looked at the others, excluding Michael from his next thought, ‘You have to shut up though, no running commentary.’

Dwayne scratched behind Thorn’s ears, “I’m gonna stay here, have fun.” He waved after them as the others headed out.

David had a good idea of where to look for just what he wanted. As he headed under the pier Paul and Marko elbowed each other, grinning at David, they knew what he was doing. Michael looked confused, “Where’re we going?”

He couldn’t help but grin back at his chosen, “To get you some takeout, Mikey.” They stepped under the pier and David spread his arms, “Veritable buffet.” He looked over the drunk and high rabble, trying to decide which drug of choice would work best on Michael.

Michael crinkled his nose up, “Really? You want me to eat this?”

“Trust me, Michael, you gotta get used to it sometime, this is what we usually have to work with through the winter.” He walked over to one who looked particularly comfortable, “This one, come eat.”

A scowl crossed his face, “In front of witnesses?”

He chuckled, “They won’t remember anything but if you want we can bring her back to the hotel.” When he received a nod in reply he picked her up, tossing her over his shoulder, “Alright, meet me there.”

Paul let out a low whistle, “You’ll like this, Mikey, he picked a good one.”

They got back to the hotel in record time, David hated carting their meals around, drew too much attention, but this would be worth it. He settled into his chair, depositing the drugged woman on the floor in front of him, “Eat up.” Michael looked skeptical but picked her up and sank his teeth in. He chuckled softly, “Bravo, Michael.” He clapped, it was always good to celebrate your first high as a vampire.

Thankfully addiction wasn’t a problem for vampires. Blood was the only addiction their bodies had room for, so the occasional high wasn’t going to be a problem. He stood as Michael slid his fangs free. His fledgling leaned back against the fountain, licking his lips, his eyes half closed. David slowly ran his fingers through brunette curls, pushing it back from his face. A soft groan escaped Michael’s lips as he tipped his head back, looking up at David through half lidded eyes.

“Feelin’ good?” He let his fingers trail down his cheek, watching as he tipped his face into his touch, “Yeah, thought so, want me to make you feel even better?” He wanted consent, even if it was kind of coerced. Sure, he wasn’t in his right mind but it would be fun when he came out of it to throw it back in his face that he let David take him.

“Yeah, wanna feel better.” Michael licked his palm softly.

David picked him up, moving to the bed and pressing him down, sliding off his own coat and shirt before getting to work on Michael who was pawing at his clothes, trying to get them off but failing miserably. Sure and steady hands divested him of his attire, tossing it to the side before admiring the body he revealed. He slid his fingers over smooth skin, watching as Michael arched into his touch. Slowly he pulled back, kicking off his boots and pants, before pressing down against him, lining up their bodies. Michael rocked up against him, sliding his cock against David’s, wringing a moan from both of them. Distantly, he could hear the boys making bets again, he rolled his eyes, dragging his teeth down that smooth column of throat, his tongue flicking out to rub across the marks he had left from proving his dominance. Michael wasn’t laying idle beneath him, his fingers dragged down his back, digging in, as he rotated his hips up, trying to get more friction. A soft growl made him still, warning him that they were taking this at David’s pace. No matter how much David worked him open, stretched him out, it was going to hurt. They didn’t really have anything handy for lube, if they decided they wanted to screw each other they struggled for dominance first before just taking what they wanted, so even though he was going to stretch Michael, it was going to be an intense experience.

As he worked his lips down Michael’s chest he brought his fingers up, pressing them to his lips, “Open up and suck.” He slowly bit down on a nipple wringing a gasp from his intended and sliding his fingers past his lips. The near immediate suction made him moan, “Good boy.”

There was no way he was going to be able to hold out much longer, not with this feast laid out before him. Quickly, he retrieved his fingers, pressing them against his opening, rubbing, trying to get him to loosen up. When one finally slid in he moaned, the sound echoed by Michael. He was just so tight, so perfect. He worked him open quickly, maybe pushing a little too fast, too soon, a couple times, but he couldn’t wait to sink into him.

Michael let out a low whine, pressing his hips against him as David licked his tip once, “Fuck, come on, need it.”

David knew he had no idea what he was asking for but he couldn’t take it any longer. In one smooth motion he slid his fingers free and pressed his tip insistently against that tight ring. With a grunt he slid inside, continuing to press until he was fully lodged inside him. Michael jerked, clenching around him, his back arching, his face showing his discomfort. David rubbed his hips, rocking his hips slightly, angling them until he pressed against his spot, watching as his back bowed and his fingers gripped at the sheets tightly.

He grinned down at him, “Bingo.” With that he began to move.

It was rough at first until the friction had split him open, blood easing the way. He knew Michael would heal quickly so that flash of pain didn’t bother him. A soft growl escaped his lips as he snapped his hips forward, fingers sliding up his sides to twine their fingers together, forcing Michael’s hands above his head. Michael moaned and whimpered, finally pressing his hips back against him, taking him in deeply, his length stood hard and red between them, twitching and dripping against his stomach.

“This is what you were meant for.” He panted, leaning down and kissing him hard, nipping and sucking at his lips, finally putting friction on the cock trapped between them, “You’re mine.” He growled, his hips giving a hard snap in, he wasn’t sure if he could stop himself from claiming him here and now. Well, what was stopping him? One way or another Michael was going to be his, he just had to stake that claim, right? He shook his head, no, Michael had to want it too, “Fuck, Michael.” He snarled, bending forward and sinking his fangs into his throat.

Michael screamed and drove his fangs into him in return. He could feel the heat of Michael’s spending splash between them, that tight hole clenching tight around him, the taste of his blood, all of it finally sending him over the edge. With a final jerk he came, filling him up, growling into his skin, lapping at the wounds he left in his throat. Michael was twitching beneath him, gasping into his shoulder, clinging to him as tightly as he could with arms and legs. A soft chuckle escaped David’s lips as he licked the last of the blood off his shoulder, watching the wounds close.

“Good boy, Michael.” He kissed his throat, slowly pulling out but staying against him, “Feel good?”

The youngest groaned, opening golden eyes to look up at him, “Damn, what’d you do?” His voice came a little slurred but he was smiling, relaxing his grip on him.

He chuckled softly, “Why, Michael, I fucked you.” He stated, licking his cheek before rolling to the side, “And you enjoyed every minute of it.”

Michael scowled, “I think part of it hurt.”

The others burst into laughter and Paul spoke, “Nah, you’re hallucinating Mikey! Looked like you loved it.”

David growled at him as Michael blinked, seeming to come back to himself a little bit, “Relax, Michael.” He kept his voice softly, “Just close your eyes and relax.” Michael nodded and closed his eyes before David got up and headed over to the boys, still naked but not seeming to care, “I told you to shut up.” He hissed, pausing for a moment, “What were you betting on?”

“Whether he was actually going to let you fuck him, drugs or no drugs.” Marko was pouting as he spoke, “Dwayne won.”

The dark vampire chuckled, “David’s a force of nature, I bet even if Michael was sober he’d let David fuck him after a little coercion.”

“I’ll take that bet.” Paul smirked, “I bet he’ll fight next time.”

Marko let out a snort, “If he lets there be a next time.”

David shook his head, “Assholes, I gotta go get pants on him or he’ll freak out when he wakes up.” He walked back to the bed, it was a pain to get pants back on a passed out vampire but he managed it, “Come to bed.”

 

-Star-

 

The moment Max died she knew, she knew that she was free. She wanted to stay with Lucy and Sam, wanted to fill that hole left by Michael. She had hoped that he would save her but instead she had damned him, she had given him to David. She closed her eyes, in a way he had saved her. If it hadn’t been for him she would still be with David and the boys, possibly have made her first kill, but instead she was human again. She knew David wanted her out of the way, if she wanted to stay she would have to plead her case to him, and likely promise to stay away from Micheal. The sun felt good against her skin as she sat on the porch and sipped lemonade. It filled her with sadness that Michael would never be able to experience this again. It would be night soon and if she wanted to talk to David she was going to have to make a trip to the boardwalk.

“Star?” Sam, he’d warmed up to her since she came to stay with them, especially after he’d gotten back from killing Max.

She looked back at him, “Hey.” She smiled.

“Feeling better?”

She nodded, “Yes, I was just thinking about what I’m going to do now.”

He scowled, sitting next to her, “You’re not staying?”

“I think David wants to kill me if I do. I’m going to talk to him, see if he’ll let me stay.”

“Like you have to listen to anything that blood sucker says.” He let out a snort.

She smiled at him, “I do if I want to live. They’re killers, Sam. If David wants to kill someone in Santa Carla, he’ll kill them.” She looked back toward the setting sun, “I’ll talk to him tonight.”

“I’ll come with you, if he tried to off me it would piss off Michael, wouldn’t it?”

That was actually probably true, “I think it would.” She paused, thinking about it for a moment, “If you want to come with me you can.” Maybe things would work out alright and she wouldn’t have to leave.

 

-Michael-

 

He woke up in the usual pile of vampires, the others already awake and talking softly. He felt surprisingly good, he had expected a hangover or something after eating that girl the previous night, but he actually felt very relaxed and comfortable. His eyes drifted closed a little as he thought about what had happened only to snap open again when he remembered, he had sex with David. Almost immediately he was trying to sit up, only to be pulled back down again by David and Dwayne, the pair not seeming to care that he was panicking a little bit.

“Get off me!” He pushed at the other two only to receive twin growls in response.

“What crawled up your ass?” Paul grumbled, looking up at him, “Oh yeah, I forgot, David did.” He grinned wickedly.

Michael lashed out, kicking him in the side, “Why would you do that?” He looked at David, glaring.

“You told me to.” He smirked, “Remember, ‘fuck, come on, I need it’? You wanted me to make you feel even better, I did. I made you scream.” He licked the side of his neck slowly.

He shook his head, “I wouldn’t, I didn’t…” He had to keep denying it even though he knew it was true, he remembered every word that left his lips, he had begged for it.

David rolled his eyes, “You’re feeling good tonight, yeah?” When Michael nodded slightly he continued, “So don’t complain. Big macho man can’t have sex with a guy, you’re not human, idiot, we do what makes us feel good. I bet you don’t even really feel hung up about it, you’re just acting like you are, am I right?” He looked smug even though Michael refused to answer, “That’s what I thought, so suck it up, this isn’t the last time it’s gonna happen either, we will be doing it again.”

He felt like he was losing part of himself, with every night, that which made him human felt like it was fading further and further into the background. A grunt of frustration escaped his lips and he smacked his head back against the bed. He needed to do something, anything, get some of this anger and frustration out. Dwayne sat up, looking down at him thoughtfully before poking him in the middle of the forehead.

“You think too much.” He kept his finger on his forehead, “Stop thinking about shit you can’t change. You’re one of us, accept it, David is going to fuck you in this bed again, you might establish your dominance and screw Marko or Paul, whatever is going to happen is going to happen. Your human family is safe, Max is gone, we’ve got a new pet dog, and you have a pack. You’re not on your own, the rest of us know what it’s like to be alone so be happy that you’re like us. You’ll never be alone, never grow old, never die, you won the jackpot, brother, so stop being a dick.” That was easy for him to say, he didn’t feel lucky, “Besides, you can still visit your little human family, at least until one of them tries to off you.”

He scowled, still pinned to the bed by three out of four vampires. Paul had settled back into his spot over his legs, “Go ahead, fight as long as you want, we have a running bet on how long it will take before you finally give in.”

“You made a bet on me?” His voice was flat as he looked at them.

Marko grinned, sitting up to look down at him, “Yeah, we make bets on everything. We made a bet on David the other night, Dwayne won the bet on Star. You can’t get out of it.”

“I wanna be alone.” He grumbled, still pinned down by the others.

David shook his head, “No, you really don’t. Come on, everyone up, let’s go down to the boardwalk, see if we can have a little fun.”

David was wrong, he knew himself better than anyone else, and he knew he wanted to be left alone. He hung back on the ride over but knew better than to go off on his own. He had no illusions that David would find him and drag him back. As they headed for their usual spot he thought he saw Star and Sam in the crowds. It wouldn't be out of the ordinary for them to be there but they seemed to be looking for someone. Michael parked his bike, his eyes locked on the crowd, trying to see them again.

"See something you like?" David whispered in his ear, making him jump as he turned his attention back to the other vampire.

He shook his head, "No, just thought I saw Sam." David growled softly, his mouth still by his ear, "Why are you being so damn possessive? I'm not property." He stated, facing him. He knew better than to look straight into his eyes so he picked a spot just below to focus on, "Why can't I have some time to myself? Why can't I go visit my family?"

David's eyes narrowed, "This isn't a conversation we should be having here." He stated firmly.

He crossed his arms over his chest, "Where should we have it? It's not like you give any time to talk when we wake up and it's early when we get back, so where, David, tell me that."

"Michael!" Shit, Sam. He spun quickly, hoping that he was just hearing things, but no, there was his little brother, "Michael, hey, umm, how're you?"

He scowled, "What?" He had no idea what his brother was doing, he seemed nervous.

He went to speak again but was cut off by a very familiar young woman, "Michael." Star, what was she doing here? She had to know David wouldn't be happy to see her, not that he could really figure out why.

"Star..." He trailed off.

"Star, come to say goodbye before you head out?" David laid a hand on Michael's shoulder and the younger vampire bristled, he was getting tired of the bleach blonde vampire.

"I was hoping I could speak with you." Her voice was soft and she didn't look him in the eyes. He motioned for her to continue, "I'd like to stay, in Santa Carla, with Sam and Lucy."

David's eyes narrowed angrily, "You want to stay? Why should I let you?"

"I'll stay out of your way, I'll do whatever you want me to, I'd just really like to stay." She fiddled with the hem of her shirt, nervous about what he was going to say.

Michael would like it if he let her stay, he'd be able to see the girl he was in love with. Okay, so, maybe it was a crush but it didn't sound as good in his head. He looked at David, the elder vampire deep in thought, Michael wished he could read minds so he would know what the other was thinking.

"I've got some conditions. If you wanna stay, you've gotta entertain us, like Sam here. Think you can do that?" When she nodded he grinned, "Alright, you can stay, for now." Michael barely held back a sigh of relief, "First thing first though, this is for Lucy." He pulled out the deed, handing it over, "It's all signed, legal and shit, video store is hers. Make up some story, tell her the truth, I don't care, just make sure she gets it."

Michael, Star, and Sam all looked at him in shock. David, doing something this nice? They couldn't believe it, "Are you serious? This is for my mom?"

He let out a snort, "What? Like we need a video store." He looked at Michael, "Let's go, I want a hot dog." He turned and started walking away.

"Thank you, Star, watch out for her, okay?" He glanced back at David, "I'll try to see you later."

"Michael, come on, let's go!" David's back was to him but there was a tension in him, he looked ready for a fight.

Michael turned, moving after him, watching the tension fall from his body, "Hot dogs?" He smiled slightly at the others, "Sounds good."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think! It was nice to finally let David have his way, now he just has to get some with Michael in his right mind.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Dwayne and Marko have had enough and Michael tries to run off.

-David-

 

It had been six months since he had made sure Michael made his first kill. Six months since he had gotten Michael high and fucked him. Six months since he had slept with the vampire he wanted as his mate. He knew he was brooding as he lounged in his throne, resting his cheek on his fist. He had let Michael spend time with his family, let him pick up his brother from school after the days got shorter. The pack usually went with him on those days and Sam still didn’t know what to think about all of them, as it should be. David would be happy to eat the kid except that it would upset Michael. There was the problem, everything was focused on Michael, he needed to pin down and mate the son of a bitch, make David his first priority, the way Michael already was for him. Of course he had to admit that he was obsessed, maybe even dangerously so, but he was a man who knew what he wanted. Michael still hadn’t seemed to fully settle into his life, sure, he took to killing, feeding, with ease, but he was staying a little walled off from his brothers. David still hadn’t introduced him to the proper way to sleep and he could tell it was making the others a little grumpy. He was just a little nervous about Michael’s reaction to hanging upside down by their feet for the day. Things were going to have to change and soon, or else there were going to be bigger problems than him not getting laid.

He was so wrapped up in his own thoughts that when Marko dumped a young woman into his lap he snarled, eyes flashing gold, "What the fuck?"

The curly haired blonde scowled at him, "You need to get laid and we need to stop sleeping in the fucking bed. It was awesome for awhile, back when we actually needed to scent bond, now it sucks. Stop being a pussy and claim him, make him understand that this is how it's supposed to be. He's a blood thirsty vampire who has play dates with his little brother. It's just, wrong. So go, fuck and feed on the dinner I just gave you, get your head back in the game, and fix things."

Marko was right, of course, he was fucking this whole thing up. He owned this city, this was his territory, and he was doing nothing to keep it. Other vamps could try to move in, try to take him out, now that Max was gone. David had yet to prove he had what it takes to keep a territory. He rubbed his eyes slowly, looking up at Marko for a moment before driving his fangs into the girl's throat. He wasn't going to have sex with her but he could feed his hunger, it would help calm the thoughts raging through his brain.

 

-Dwayne-

 

He let Marko handle their little intervention. It was worrying to see David so off his game, even Michael had noticed something was wrong. The youngest in their group came to him to try and figure out what was wrong with their leader. Dwayne knew exactly what was wrong but he didn't feel it was his place to say, of course Paul just opened his mouth and spilled the whole problem. Michael had gone back to his mom and brother after that, claiming he needed time to think, of course he came back every morning. With as tightly bound as he was to David and the rest of them there wasn't much choice. Whether unconsciously or intentionally, David was exerting his influence over them, he wanted them near and safe, wanted the comfort of his pack to get through this. Dwayne understood why David hadn't moved them back to their more comfortable, safer, sleeping place. It was the same reason for all of their problems, Michael. He could claim wanting to wait for his youngest to be ready all he wanted, Dwayne and the others knew what needed to happen. Screw whether or not Michael was ready, David needed to pin him down and claim him, it would solve most of their problems. Claiming would help kill that sentimental part of him, or at least curb its influence, he would want to spend more time with David, and therefore the pack, instead of his human family. Not only that but it would put David in a much better mood. Although they knew David could defend his territory, others didn't, and Dwayne didn't want to see a power struggle in Santa Carla. If someone did show up and try to take over and unclaimed Michael would be a disaster. As long as he refused to take what he wanted it was a weakness, one that someone could easily exploit. He sighed, maybe he needed to have a talk with Michael, something had to give and knowing David it wasn't going to be him.

 

-Michael-

 

He still wasn't happy about being a vampire. He wished that he could stay with his family and not have part of him whisper that the boys were his family, not the humans. He had no problem with killing and even enjoyed himself when he went out with the boys, it was enough to make him forget that he wasn't human, sometimes. Making his life as normal as possible was difficult and the boys weren’t helping much, he tried to spend as much time with his human family and Star as he could, but sometimes he worried about his mom finding out that he wasn’t exactly human anymore. He glanced over at David, their leader was brooding again, and it made him nervous. If David was on edge it sent all of them on edge, as if they were picking up on his emotions. Dwayne was staring at Michael, looking thoughtful, and there wasn’t anything Michael wanted to do more than leave. Leaving would mean going past Dwayne and the look that he was giving him made him want to avoid the other vampire at all cost. Marko had left an hour ago and finally got back, a young woman over his shoulder, he watched as the girl was deposited in David’s lap and Dwayne’s attention turned to their leader. Now was the time for him to sneak out, while there wasn’t any attention on him. He thought he was home free when he made it halfway up the stairs only to run into a very solid body.

Dwayne was standing in front of him, arms crossed over his bare chest, “Michael.” He looked down at him from a higher step, “We need to talk.”

Michael glared up at him, crossing his own arms, “No, we don’t.”

A soft growl escaped the older vampire’s lips, his eyes flashing gold, Michael instinctively backed down, lowering his gaze and tipping his head slightly, “Enough is enough, you can’t keep this up, no more going and spending the whole night with those humans. You’re lucky we don’t slaughter them all, get your attention back where it belongs. You hunt when you have to and then go trotting back to them. It stops, now.”

“Why’re you telling me this? What’s wrong with David that he doesn’t have the balls to tell me himself?” He growled softly, looking up at him again.

“Because David wants to pin you down and mate you, he wants you happy and he wants you to give in, admit that you want him. It’s driving the rest of us nuts, we’ve had enough. Six months since he took you, so, you’re not going anywhere until the two of you have had it out. Here’s what’s going to happen, you’re going to go back in there and you’re going to stay there until he’s ready to do whatever it is that he’s going to do.”

He snarled, like he was actually going to do that, “No, I won’t.” He looked up at him defiantly.

Dwayne raised an eyebrow, “Are you challenging me? This is your chance to back down before I beat the shit out of you.”

Honestly he didn’t want to be put down, he wanted to leave and with the mood he was in at the moment he wasn’t going to back down. He lunged, snarling lowly as he tried to catch the other vampire off guard. Dwayne snarled, catching him mid-leap, claws digging into his sides as he spun, slamming him into the stairs. Michael felt them crack beneath him. He struggled, claws dragging down Dwayne's chest as Michael fought to push the other vampire off him. There was only one way he was going to give up, Dwayne had to manage to pin him and bite him, until then he wasn’t going to submit. He jerked as his wrists were grabbed, pinning them above his head before teeth came toward his throat. He jerked, head-butting him hard, trying to go for his throat at the same time. Dwayne’s grip shifted, grabbing both wrists with one hand before punching him across the face hard enough to daze him. In a flash there were fangs buried in his throat, digging in deep. He howled loudly before going still, tipping his head in submission. When Dwayne pulled away Michael was pleased to note that he had done some damage before being forced to submit. The claw marks down his chest were healing and the darker vampire was forced to let him go so he could fix his nose. Of course Michael bore the brunt of the damage but he put up a good fight.

“Get off me.” He growled, glaring up at him.

The other vampire stood before grabbing him by the arm and pulling him up, shoving him back toward the entrance to the cave. Michael went, he’d been put in his place, he would do what Dwayne wanted, for now. The others were waiting inside, watching as the bloody pair came back in from their tussle outside. David’s eyes were golden as he looked at them, eyes locked on Michael. There was something in his gaze that told him there was going to be trouble and he wasn’t going to like it.

“Michael, come here.” It was an order he felt compelled to obey and instead of resisting he went with it, walking over to stand in front of David, “On your knees.” He dropped without a thought, bowing his head, "I'm the master of this city, I'm your master, I'm the leader of this pack, and I've fucked up by not putting you in your place, by giving you so much damn leeway."

Michael was beginning to panic, what did David mean? What was going to happen? He looked up, knowing that his eyes were filled with fear, "David..."

"Shut up, Michael." He growled lowly, cutting him off, "You're mine, I picked you, I chose you, I made you." He wrapped a hand around his throat, "I wanted this to be good for you, I gave you time to come to me, I've had enough." He slammed him to the floor, "So, I'm just gonna take what I want, like I should have done in the first place. I feel like I need to prove to you that I can have you, that I'm strong enough to possess you."

Michael swallowed hard, eyes wide, "No, totally not necessary, don't gotta prove anything, you're good, honest, just let me up."

"I thought I told you to shut up." He hissed through fangs, eyes narrowed down at him angrily.

In a flash, fangs were buried in his throat and a jolt of pleasure shot through him, making him grind up against his maker. His fingers gripped tight to David's black coat as he cried out, gasping and arching. He had forgotten that the bite could feel so very good, David hadn't bitten him since that first time for any reason other than punishment. Hips rocked down against his trapped length and he found himself thrusting up into it, rolling his hips while soft whimpers escaped his lips. He was so close but he needed more. All this was serving to do was drive him insane, there was something missing, something that he couldn't quite put his finger on, and his frustration came out in a low keen. The bleach blonde slowly pulled back, licking blood off his lips and gazing down at him with golden eyes.

"Tell me, Michael, tell me you want to be mine." He hissed softly, the words promising so much, "Say it."

Part of him wanted to give in, practically demanded that he do so. He whimpered again, tipping his head to the side submissively, "Please." He clenched his eyes shut.

"Please, what?" He hissed against his throat.

He squeezed his eyes shut tighter, "Please, master, I want to be yours." He felt like he was betraying himself, would probably yell and rage at David later, but right now he wouldn't be able to stand it if the older vampire stopped, "Don't stop." He rolled his hips up demandingly.

David shredded Michael's clothes with his claws before quickly stripping off his own clothing. Blunt, human, nails dragged down his skin, leaving red in their wake before a cool tongue soothed them. When David finally sank into him, without preparation this time, he howled, trying to jerk away from the pain but was dragged back onto his cock in one smooth motion. Claws and fangs flashed in the light from the oil drums as David claimed him, violently. He left his own marks on the pale vampire, sinking his fangs into his shoulder before dragging claws down his back. They were so wrapped up in the act they didn't notice their audience.

 

-Dwayne-

 

"You owe me." Dwayne smirked at Paul, leaning back against the fountain and crossing his legs, he looked decidedly smug.

Marko and Dwayne had bet that Michael would give in that night, Paul on the other hand said there was no way and they would have to suffer David's wrath. Now, Paul owed both Marko and Dwayne, and he wasn't looking forward to paying up. Dwayne looked back at the duo rutting on the floor and shook his head. He had to admit they complemented each other nicely.

"I think there should be more biting involved." Marko was watching them, cocking his head to the side, "How does he do that thing with his hips?" And keeping a running commentary, "I wanna learn how to do that move."

Paul rolled his eyes, "You have to have sex first before you can learn, we know you haven't gotten any since before Star."

Marko looked offended, "You offering to be my fuck buddy? Maybe that should be my winnings for the bet."

Paul punched him, "Ass."

Dwayne shook his head, "I'm gonna think of something really good for you to do for me. Maybe you'll be my bitch for a week."

The other vampire pouted, crossing his arms over his chest, "You're both dicks." He glanced over at their show, "Damn, we missed the climax."

David was glaring at them, "You been there the whole time?"

Michael looked too blissed out to realize they were being watched. Marko grinned at them, "Hell yeah, like we would miss the show?" He paused, "How do you do that thing with your hips?"

David growled and threw his coat at the laughing trio, "Shut up."

 

-Sam-

 

He was worried about his brother. For the past six months Michael had been spending at least part of every night with him, until tonight. The night before he had said he'd be back the next night but he never showed up. Sam waited by the window, watching for the headlights of Michael's bike. He wanted to stay up all night and wait, hoping he'd show up but he had school in the morning. Something had to of happened, what if he was tied up and tortured? What if the other vamps had gotten tired of him coming to see Sam and they were doing horrible things to him? He looked out the window again, maybe he should go out and try to find him, tomorrow would be better, yes, he'd go out tomorrow.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Sam has plans and David makes poorly veiled threats.

-David-

 

He woke up pressed against Michael as they hung from an old pipe. It felt good to be back in their usual resting place and there had only been a minor freak out from his youngest about hanging by his feet. After finally claiming him it felt like all the weight and tension had been lifted from his shoulders. He hadn't even gone after the other three vampires for sticking around to watch his performance. He didn't really like an audience but in some ways it was good, he showed he was dominant, and he took what he wanted. He stretched slowly, running his fingers through Michael's hair, combing through the curls. Michael was sleeping comfortably, would be waking up soon, but for now he looked kind of peaceful. His fledgling's mood was unpredictable but it was worth it now that he had him. He flipped off his perch, landing quietly as he went to go light the barrels. He settled into his usual spot, waiting for the others to wake up. They would be making a trip to the boardwalk that night, ever since Michael had been spending time with his human family he had neglected to take care of himself properly. Now that they were mated he would want to spend more time with the vampires and less with the humans. He could feel the others waking up, they'd be out soon.

"Hello, David! You're up early." Paul came in from their sleeping area, "What's the plan?"

The others were close behind him, Michael looking a little tired still, "How'd you sleep, Michael?"

"I thought it would suck but I think that's the best sleep I've had in awhile." He stretched, "What're we doing tonight?"

David was pleased he asked, "Boardwalk. Need to make sure they know we're still around."

Michael scowled, "What, like you haven't been there in six months." They all looked at him, "Are you serious? The whole time, not even once? I don't believe it."

"David was pissy, you were gone, we're a pack, it's all or nothing, not that you seemed to care." Marko glared at him.

He glared back, "I care, asshole."

"Then why'd you go off and play human?" He was standing toe to toe with the other vampire now, looking up at him.

He looked away, "I just needed to, okay?"

Marko threw his hands up before heading for the opening outside. Paul and Dwayne followed next while David motioned for Michael to go ahead. He understood why Marko was pissy, they all were, but the problem should be fixed. For once they were silent as they road to the boardwalk, Michael was going to have some major sucking up to do if he wanted to get back in their good graces, like be bait for the night. They parked in their usual spot, thankfully empty, before dismounting and relaxing, most of them leaning against their bikes.

'So, Michael, you're bait tonight. Since you've been an idiot for six months you have to pay up and pick something good for dinner.' David looked over at him, wasn't about to broadcast the plan of the night when they were surrounded by a bunch of happy meals with legs.

'Fine, anything specific you guys want?' He felt like he was ordering take out.

'I want a red head!' Marko grinned at him, 'A chick, not a dude.'

'Fine, anything else?'

David shook his head, 'Just bring 'em back here.'

Michael nodded, heading out to find dinner. Paul looked at the others, "I'm gonna go watch." He smirked, "See if any of that sentimental human bullshit rubbed off on him." With that he disappeared into the crowd.

 

-Sam-

 

He hadn't been able to find Michael but he saw those four vamp bikers in their usual spot. A sigh escaped his lips, he needed to find their lair, needed to take them out, then Michael could be free, he could come home. Well, kind of come home, their mom still didn't know about the whole blood sucker thing, but it would be alright. Maybe he could sleep in grandpa's shed for the day. He headed for the comic book store, the Frog brothers would help him, he knew he couldn't pull this off on his own and maybe they would have a better idea. The pair looked up at him as he entered. Ever since they had taken out Max they'd hung out a lot more, it was nice to have friends, even if they were a little nuts and vampire obsessed.

"So, I have this idea and I need help to pull it off."

Edgar grinned, "What do you wanna do?"

 

-Michael-

 

He had just found the perfect group of girls to chat up when he spotted Sam and the Frogs heading out of the comic book shop. A soft hiss escaped his lips, he couldn't talk to him, the boys were already pissed because of how much time he had spent with him, he needed to get back in their good graces. They were coming his way, discussing something, he could barely make out what they were saying, something about finding someone and what kind of equipment they needed. He swallowed hard, vampire hunting equipment. What were those little shits thinking? They were going to get themselves killed. The worst part was that he knew if he had to choose between his brother and the boys, he didn't even want to think about it. There had to be something he could do, if he told David he had no idea what the result would be and if he said nothing, someone was going to be seriously hurt. He ran a hand through his hair, clenching his fingers, why did this have to happen tonight?

'Michael, hurry up.' David was getting impatient.

For now he'd just have to get their meals for the night and worry about Sam later. Once his brother and friends disappeared into the crowd he headed for the girls, smiling at them. They weren’t discreet about sizing him up, one of them, a blonde in a pink halter top licked her lips. He had a feeling they had already started the night off at a bar, it would make it easier for him to get them to come with him.

“You’re with those bikers, aren’t you?” The blonde twirled a lock of hair around a finger as she walked toward him, “I saw you guys come in together, you are with them, aren’t you?”

He smirked at her, “And if I said yes?” He took a step closer to her.

The other three girls were talking softly, watching their friend, smiling when he looked their way, “I’d say, why don’t you introduce us?” She paused, “I’m Sherry.”

“If you want to have some fun tonight, well, you and your friends are welcome to join us.” He reached up, brushing a stray lock of hair behind her ear, “Would you like that?” She nodded, “Good.” He turned and headed for his bike, the girls seemed so excited, part of him felt bad that they were going to die.

“Michael, who’re your friends?” David moved over to him from where he was leaning against his bike.

“David, this is Sherry,” he glanced back at her friends, “and, sorry, didn’t catch your names.” He smiled apologetically.

Sherry gasped softly, blushing, “I’m so sorry! This is Cindy, Rachel, and Serena.”

‘Serena’s mine.’ Marko grinned at her before walking over, “Marko.” He seemed to only have eyes for the redhead.

David smirked at his mate, ‘I’m sure Michael will share, won’t you Michael?’ He straddled his bike, “Take your pick ladies, you’re in for one hell of a ride.” He smirked as the others got on, Serena climbing on behind Marko, Sherry with Michael, Paul got Rachel, and Cindy went with Dwayne.

Their leader sped off, without a human behind him he felt free to drive recklessly. The others were just as fast but a little more careful with the takeout. The girls ate it up, Sherry clung tight to Michael, pressing her cheek against his back as he drove up alongside David, ‘Taking them home?’ He grinned, looking at the blonde.

‘Yeah, give them the grand tour.’ He slid to a stop, swinging his bike around to face his pack, “Feelin’ good?” He chuckled, “Because this is only the beginning.” He parked, heading down to the hotel.

The girls looked a little apprehensive but the boys were fired up and it seemed to bleed into them a little, making them more comfortable. Michael pressed Sherry ahead of him, “Ladies first.” She gave him a nervous smile before heading down with him close behind her.

Once they were all in David spun, chuckling softly, “Welcome to the hottest hotel in Santa Carla.”

Serena was the first to speak, eyes huge as she took in the lobby, “Wow. This is just, wow.”

Marko grinned, putting his hands on her hips, “Come over here.” He guided her to the couch, sitting down with her close beside him, “Hey, Pauly, got any of the good stuff?”

David settled into his chair, rocking back and forth slightly as he watched Michael and Sherry sit near him on the edge of the fountain. Paul rolled his eyes, pulling out a joint and lighting it, “Not for your punk ass.” He offered it to Serena, grinning as she took a hit.

The joint did make it’s way to Marko eventually, after everyone else had taken their turn. It didn’t take long to ply them with beer and weed, get them to relax. Dwayne kissed down Cindy’s throat, nicking her skin as he made his way down before sinking his fangs in deeply and pulling back. She screamed and he laughed, grinning at her with a bloody mouth as blood slid over her skin. The other three looked to see what was going on, Sherry stumbling to her feet upon seeing her friend screaming with crimson dripping down her chest from where Dwayne bit her.

“Cindy!” She moved forward only to be caught by Michael’s hands around her waist, “Let me go!”

He grinned at her, showing golden eyes and fangs before pulling her back. She was caught by David, one hand wrapping around her chin, pressing her head to the side, “Come on, Michael, share a meal with me.” He breathed across her neck, eyes locked on his youngest.

Sherry screamed, struggling against him as Michael came close, running his tongue over her throat, “Mmm, she tastes good.” His eyes were locked on David’s as he sank his fangs into her throat, digging in where the shoulder meets the neck, ‘Your turn.’ He groaned, drinking slowly, wanting it to last and still needing to share with David.

David released her chin and dug his fangs into her other shoulder. She screamed and cried, “Please, please, don’t do this.” She had ceased her struggles, didn’t have the energy to fight anymore.

They pulled back at the same time, letting her fall to the floor, before David’s mouth crashed against his own, claws sliding down the back of his neck as a low growl was swallowed by his mouth. Michael groaned, pressing against him, his tongue chasing the blood on his mate’s teeth, trying to capture all of it. The sounds of the others feeding faded into the background as he lost himself in the feel of David’s body against his.

 

-David-

 

Something was bothering Michael and it was his job to find out what. He sat in his chair, watching as Michael lounged on the edge of the fountain. Paul and Marko were playing cards, their gazes focused intently on each other, while Dwayne was throwing things at them, trying to get one of them to break. David absently rolled a beer bottle between his hands as he thought about how he was going to approach his mate.

“Michael.” The brunette turned his head to look at him, “Come ‘ere.” He beckoned him over, dropping the bottle, listening to it thunk against the ground.

Michael rolled his eyes but got up, moving over to stand in front of him, “What?”

“What’s on your mind?” He kept their eyes locked as he rolled his chair back and forth.

“Nothing.” He seemed distracted and David shook his head, “I swear, nothing.”

He growled softly but smiled, “Lying to me? For shame, Mikey, now, let’s be honest, what’s on your mind.” He laced his words with command, keeping their eyes locked on each other.

A soft sigh escaped his lips and he looked away, “My brother.”

He raised an eyebrow, “What about your brother?” He hated having to fish like this, whatever it was, Michael needed to tell him.

“I think he’s going to do something stupid. I saw him talking with the Frogs a couple nights ago, they were gonna gather some stuff and I think they’re gonna do something really, really stupid.”

Great, amateur vampire hunters were getting supplies and going to do something stupid, “Great, what’re you gonna do about it?”

He blinked, “Me? What do you mean, me?”

“Your brother, you deal with him before I have to.” He paused, eyes narrowed, "You won't like it if I have to."

Oh, he knew exactly what he was going to do if he had to deal with it. Sure, if he killed Sam Michael would be pissed for awhile but he'd get over it. The Frog brothers could be made an example of, hang them from a flag pole, something dramatic. No, he could deal with it another way. Maybe scare them into submission, thinly veiled threats, maybe take them for a ride to Hudson's Bluff, drop one off the edge and have someone catch him, maybe. Yeah, that's what he would do, take them for a nice little ride.

"I'll have to go find him, I'll be back after I talk to him, okay?" He pulled on his jacket, "I won't be gone long."

David smirked, "No, I don't figure you will." Michael glared at him, even though they were mated he still talked back, he loved the spunk in his new companion, "Give my regards to your brother." He smirked as Michael gave him the finger and headed out to find his brother.

 

-Michael-

 

He found his brother at the comic book shop, talking quietly with the Frogs in a corner. They were huddled around something on the ground. A soft sigh escaped his lips as he moved toward them, walking silently. Ever since becoming a fully fledged vampire he was very good at walking completely silently, he assumed it was because prey was easier to stalk when they can't hear you. All of them had their backs toward him so when he walked up and placed a clawed hand on Sam's head they all tensed up and froze.

"Hello, Sam." His voice was rough as he smirked down at them.

"Mike, umm, can you not dig your claws in and scoop out my brain, I didn't think vampires even ate brains, do you eat brains? Have you gone dark side, are you gonna kill me?" The scared ramblings of his little brother made him laugh as he retraced his claws, willed his hand back to human. A sigh of relief escaped Sam's lips and he turned slowly, looking up at him, "What're you doing here? Not that I'm not happy to see you but why're you here?"

"I'm here to stop you from doing something stupid." He crossed his arms over his chest and looked past them to see what they were surrounding. Squirt guns, wooden stakes, vampire hunting gear, "Something very stupid."

"It's not what you think!" Sam's eyes were wide and his throat worked to swallow, Michael could smell the fear coming off him.

He raised an eyebrow, "So you weren't going to go vampire hunting?"

"We're gonna save you."

He scowled, "Save me? From what? Life? Because I'm telling you right now, I'm not gonna let any of you drive a stake through me."

Edgar pulled his coat off and covered the implements laid out in front of them, "It's for the other blood suckers."

Now Michael was confused, "I thought we had a deal? You leave us alone, we leave you alone."

Now it was Sam's turn to scowl, "'Us'? Since when do you count with them?"

He was one of them, why didn't Sam see that? He ran a hand through his hair, "I am one of them. I'm with them, I'm part of them, what were you thinking? You kill my pack and I come back with you? Not how it works."

"Why not? Why can't it work that way?" He got to his feet, standing toe to toe with him, glaring up, "I thought you wanted to stay with us! The past six months you stayed all night, until a couple nights ago. What happened? You said you were gonna come over."

"I..." He closed his eyes and sighed, "They showed me the truth." He had to be firm, had to make sure that Sam understood he wasn't coming back, his place was with David and the pack.

"The truth?! What the fuck, Mike, the truth? What the hell does that mean?!"

How was he going to do this? He tipped his head back, looking at the ceiling, before turning his gaze to Sam, "I'm a god damn vampire, Sam, I eat people. I can't escape that, I can't pretend to be something I'm not. Let it go, leave us alone, I'll still come see you and pick you up from school sometimes, but I can't spend all night with you." His eyes were flecked with gold, "I have to go, don't do anything stupid." He turned and headed back to his bike, he needed to get back.

For some reason the longer he was away the more anxious he became. It bothered him. What did the other night really do to him? He sped back to the hotel, determined to find answers. Paul had told him that David wanted to pin him down and mate him. That night he had also given himself to David, he remembered that he had been forced to beg, to tell David that he wanted to belong to him. Was that what it took to mate or was there something more? David was lounging in his chair, slowly drinking a beer.

David looked up at him, grinning as he took another drink, "Welcome back, miss me, sweetheart?"

Michael glared at him, "What's wrong with me?"

He tossed his beer to the side, getting up, "Nothing, what do you think is wrong with you?"

"I don't want to leave." He stated, eyes narrowed.

David snorted, "I don't see the problem. We're pack, pretty simple, we want to be together." He rolled his eyes, "More than that, you're mine." He shrugged, speaking as though it was a simple fact, "There's no problem with wanting to come home." He reached up, sliding his fingers through brunette curls, "You are mine, Michael, forever."

"Is this that mate crap Paul was talking about?" Those fingers in his hair were calming and he tipped his head into his touch.

David growled softly, "Yeah, you're my mate. We only ever get one and you're mine." He paused for a moment, letting his words sink in, "And I'm yours."

He closed his eyes and sighed, "So, I'm stuck with you forever?" There really wasn't any heat to his words.

"Yeah," he chuckled softly, "so deal with it." He tugged his hair lightly, getting him to open his eyes, "How'd it go with the little wannabe hunters?"

"Fine, I think, but we need to keep an eye on them. Sam thinks he's saving me."

David let out a bark of laughter, "Doesn't he realize? I've already saved you." He nipped his lips softly, smirking at him.

 

-David-

 

Sam was glaring at them from the safety of the comic book store. David chuckled softly, he needed to teach them a lesson, show them what would happen if they kept trying to go after them. He knew they weren't going to stop, not while Sam was still hung up on his brother. The Frogs weren't likely to stop, ever. He was hoping that they could make an impression. Michael was worried about his brother, his thoughts running rampant, practically broadcasting to the boys that he didn't want anything to happen to Sam. David was getting tired of it and now he was going to do something about it.

'Michael, get your brother and his friends. It's time to teach them a lesson.' He crossed his arms over his chest, Michael was freaking out inside, 'We won't kill them, stop being a baby, we're just going to scare them.' He watched as Michael went to his brother, could feel the apprehension coming from the pair, 'Tell them we want to sit down and talk.' It took a little effort on Michael's part but his mate managed to get the trio to come over to them. David grinned at them, leaning against his bike, arms crossed over his chest, "Hello boys. We're going to take a little ride, have a little talk." He settled onto his bike, "Sam, hop on." He wasn't going to let Michael take his brother, he'd go easy on him.

"I'd rather go with Michael." He swallowed hard as David pinned him with his gaze.

"Now, Sam." His voice was laced with command, even though it wouldn't effect Sam very much it would get his boys to make sure Sam got on.

Michael gave him a little push, "We're not going to kill you, promise."

Paul and Marko settled onto their bikes, Dwayne laid his hands on the Frogs' shoulders, pushing them toward the bikes, "Get on."

Once everyone was settled David took off with a shout and Sam screamed, clinging to him tightly. He heard the answering calls of his pack mates and felt the human tense against his back, fingers gripping tight to his coat. A soft chuckle escaped his lips as he wrung another scream from Sam, nearly running into a wooden pole.

'Are you trying to kill him?' Michael hissed in his mind as Alan screamed from behind Marko.

'No, this is just a warm-up, Mikey.' Sam screamed again and David howled, the others answering in kind, even Michael couldn't resist joining in.

The three humans were shaking as they came to a stop on the edge of Hudson's Bluff, "Ready to have a little talk, boys?"

The humans were quick to stumble off the bikes, Edgar running to the bushes and throwing up, the other two didn't look much better as David swung his leg over the side of his bike and waited for them to compose themselves. Michael was glaring at him but he just smiled, watching as they waited. Sam was the first one to come over, his face as white as a sheet but David had to give him props for bravery, or would it be stupidity?

"What the hell, you tying to kill us?" There wasn't even a quiver in his voice.

"No." He stated simply, examining his nails, "We were in total control, no chance of death for you. Trust me, if I wanted to kill you, I would and it wouldn't involve damaging my bike." Dwayne herded the three boys into a group so the vampires were surrounding them, "We need to have a nice little talk and if you can be good boys then we won't have any problems. If you can't, well, no one can hear you scream."

Edgar seemed to find his feet after his visit to the bushes, "What do you assholes want?"

"See, here's the deal," he moved close, dusting the shoulders of Edgar's jacket off, "we'll let you stay, Michael has a sentimental attachment to Sam here, and we'll let you live but only if you stay the fuck out of our business. Stop trying to off us or this is what's going to happen to you." He grabbed him by his coat, dragging him to the edge of the cliff before hanging him off the edge, "I will drop you and watch as you scream all the way down, watch you lie broken on the ground and maybe, maybe I'll be feeling generous and snap your neck." He touched Dwayne's mind, 'I'm gonna drop him, catch.' With that he let him go.

All three humans screamed, Sam and Alan ran forward, as Dwayne caught him. Sam and Alan stared down as Dwayne grinned up at them, carrying Edgar to the top. The human clung to him as tightly as he could, letting out little whimpers.

Sam punched him, it didn't hurt, didn't even faze him. He blinked, chuckling softly as he looked at the spitfire little blonde, "Michael, your little bro here's just like you, he thinks it's a good idea to punch me too. I'm gonna let it slide this time, next time though, Dwayne won't be there to catch you and trust me when I say that Michael won't either. Stop trying to take something that isn't yours, Michael is staying with us, I'll let him visit, you are his little bro after all, but make no mistake, he's one of us and one day he will watch you die. If you care about him, you won't make him watch you die until you're old and grey because I will kill you if you come after us." His eyes were hard and golden, his voice flat, deadly, "Am I clear? Do I need to spell it out? Maybe draw you a picture?"

Sam shook his head, "I get it, we get it, don't we guys?" Edgar and Alan nodded, "We get it."

“Good. You boys want a ride back to the boardwalk?” He smirked, “Promise it won’t be as much fun, for us.”

Sam looked at the brothers, “I ride with Michael.”

David spread his hands, “Alright, boys, mount up.”

They each got on their bikes, the teens hesitantly getting on behind them. David was true to his word and the ride back was safe and at a much more sedate pace although David would have loved to mess with them some more. The others except for Michael were thinking the same thing. They dropped them off, David giving them one last firm look, conveying that he would be watching, before taking off back the way they’d come.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And another chunk done! Let me know what you think!


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Marko and Michael make up and Star finds something wrong.

-Star-

 

The first time she noticed him it was just starting to get dark. He was young, handsome, black hair and green eyes, but there was something off about him, something she couldn’t quite place.  It was a familiar feeling but she wasn’t sure where she had felt it before. He stood out in the crowd and she was tempted to go to him but it was just wrong. That’s when she realized where she had felt it before, the first time she had met David. Had they turned someone else? No, he wasn’t dressed like them, he didn’t look like a Lost Boy. He was clean cut, no leather or chains, he looked nice, like a good boy. She was surprised by her first thought after she figured it out, she needed to tell David. If she kept this to herself it could come back to bite her and she didn’t want to get on David’s bad side. If he found out that there was another vampire here and she knew about it, well, it wouldn’t end well for her. The young man smiled at her and she smiled back before turning away to find the boys, she wasn’t going to keep this to herself.

 

-Michael-

 

Marko was throwing small rocks at him again. The smaller vampire was still pissy with him even though it had been weeks since he and David mated. Paul and Dwayne had warmed up to him again at least but Marko was being difficult. He wasn’t going to go crying to David, even though he knew his mate could fix it, because that wasn’t a good way to get back on Marko’s good side. So he sat there and ignored the small rocks, focusing instead on the book he had stolen from Dwayne. One of the rocks pelted him in the face and he let out a growl, finally turning to the other vampire, putting the book to the side.

“What the hell, Marko? It’s been weeks, what more do you want from me? Stop being a little shit and tell me what you want.” He growled, eyes flashing, he was getting tired of this. He was about to open his mouth when they heard footsteps at the entrance to the hotel, “Star.” For awhile he had tried to feel something for her, what he used to feel, but since mating with David he didn’t really have an attraction to anyone else, “What’re you doing here?”

They all turned to face her, putting aside whatever it was they had been doing. David got to his feet, “Yeah, Star, what are you doing here?”

She was afraid, they could all feel it, and he hoped David wasn’t going to turn her into dinner for coming to their home. She stood tall, gathering herself before speaking, “There’s another vampire here. I saw him on the boardwalk.”

David scowled, “How do you know?”

“It’s a feeling, the same feeling when I met you. He’s just, wrong.”

“Fuck.” David hissed softly, “Boys, let’s go, we need to pay a visit to this new vamp in our territory.” He looked at Star, “You’re coming with us, we need to know which one he is after all.” He moved past her and the others followed.

A new vampire in town, Michael had a horrible feeling about this and his brothers felt the same. Marko glanced at him when they mounted their bikes, the look conveying everything he needed to know, the other vampire had forgiven him. At least one good thing had come out of this, Marko wouldn’t be throwing rocks at him anymore. They parked in their usual spot, alert for anything out of place, for the feeling of their own kind. He wasn’t as adept at using the perks that came from being a vampire, the only thing he was good at was talking with his brothers and feeling where everyone was. The others were much more experienced, could read minds, David was great at messing with people, he knew that only too well, but he could feel that there was something wrong. It was bigger than one person and there was a smell that hadn’t been there before. It stood out over the smell of blood, of humans and body odor, it made him feel dirty, like their territory had been tainted. David moved forward, steps sure and steady, like he knew exactly where he was going, Star was slightly behind him, looking around, trying to spot the man she had seen earlier.

“There.” She grabbed David’s coat, tugging at it and pointing. They all followed her finger, spotting the young man in question, “That’s him.”

David glanced back at her, “You’re free to go.” He looked back at the man, “Let’s take care of this, boys.”

They were all tense, eyes locked on the man as they followed David, heading toward him. The young man turned to face them, smiling widely when he saw them, “Well, so you’re the so called Lost Boys. I expected, I don’t know, someone a little more fierce.” He smirked, crossing his arms over his chest.

The crowd around them kept their distance, ignoring them for the moment, but Michael knew if it came down to a fight they would all be there watching. David crossed his arms over his chest, smiling benevolently at the intruder into their territory, “So, you know of us, what do we call you?” David’s voice was cold, deadly calm, it sent a shiver up Michael’s spine and he couldn’t help but find it arousing.

“You can call me Seth.” He smiled, showing pearly white teeth.

Michael didn’t like him, the moment he saw him he felt the need to tear his throat out but this was David’s show and he would wait and see what happened. David showed his teeth in return, “Seth, tell me, what brings you to my city?”

He raised an eyebrow, “Your city? Last I heard it belonged to Max but I haven’t seen him since I got here, have you?”

David’s smile turned malicious, “He’s gone, couple of hunters offed him, so the city falls to me.” He paused, “I don’t know you, I don’t know your pack, wherever they are, and I don’t want you in my city. So, tell me, why’re you here?”

A soft growl escaped his lips, “My master sent me to see Max, since he’s gone, well, he’ll want to know. As for you, I suppose this gives you a chance to leave town.”

David growled in return, “Oh, we won’t be leaving, in fact, neither will you.” He lashed out, grabbing him by the back of the neck, “You’re coming with us to have a little chat. Once that’s done we’ll have a little pow-wow and decide if we’re going to let you go or not. Since this is my city, and I’m sure you don’t want to attack me, we’re going to take a little ride, get some air. We clear?” Seth nodded, his bravado seeming to fade a little under David’s grip, “Good, let’s go.” He turned, pushing the other vampire ahead of them, herding him toward their bikes.

 

-David-

 

He took them out to Hudson’s Bluff, it was the best place to talk without giving away their lair. Seth had ridden with Dwayne, he would let his second in command deal with having an invading vampire at his back. Seth hadn’t taken very well to the way they liked to ride, what kind of vampire couldn’t stand a little excitement? All of his boys were on edge and Michael was thinking about how strange it was that Seth had actually gone with them. If he knew everything about their society he would know that Seth really had no choice. Even if he didn’t believe that David was the master of this city he still had to go with him. Seth brushed off his shirt and pants, sand and dirt clung to him. He was disgusted by the state of his clothes, it was obvious he didn’t like dirt.

“Don’t like the sand, Seth?” David chuckled softly, getting off his bike, “Tell me about your master and what he wants with my city.”

Seth growled low in his throat, “I told you, he sent me to talk to Max. I don’t know what he’d want with this dirty little city but I’m going back to tell him that Max is dead. As far as I’m concerned you can keep this shit hole.”

Seth was lying to him, David could feel it in the way he spoke, the tone of his voice. Part of what he said was truth, he didn’t want to stay in the city, he didn’t want his master to take over the city, but with Max gone that was what his master would try to do. David needed to send a message and it needed to be a good one to prove that Santa Carla belonged to him.

"So, Seth, what should we do with you? I need to make an impression on your master, show him that this city is mine." He grinning, looking back at his boys, 'Want to help me decide? Something good.'

Marko grinned, 'I think we should write a message on his chest.'

Dwayne rolled his eyes, 'Cut off a couple fingers, pin a letter to his shirt.'

Paul shook his head, 'If we knew where he came from and who his master is we could do more but maybe we can do both.'

'Any ideas, Michael?'

Seth was getting antsy as they carried on their silent conversation, "Can we hurry this up?"

'We need to prove that we're stronger, that we can hold our territory. We want to keep them away, not draw them in.' He looked at Seth, 'What if we just let him go. Give him a message to take with him. If he or any of his pack come here we will slaughter them all and leave them on spikes around the edge of our property.'

David looked thoughtful, taking in the boys' ideas, "Patience, Seth, we were deciding exactly what we wanted to do with you." He loved the fear coming off the intruder, "Here's what's going to happen, we're gonna let you go, but, and here's the real kicker," he grinned maliciously, "you're gonna take your master a message." He paused, "Maybe you should write this down. You're gonna tell him that if he or any of his little minions come into my city again they're gonna be strung up to wait for the sun and we're gonna sit and eat popcorn and watch 'em burn. Doesn't that sound like fun, Seth? Think you can do that for us?" When Seth nodded David patted his cheek, "Good boy. You can see yourself out." He turned and headed back for his bike.

They moved as one, leaving the other vampire on the edge of the cliff, 'Where we going? Home? I'm hungry.' Marko whined.

'Shut it, midget, stop being a whiny bitch.' Paul growled at him, 'But I'm hungry too.'

'Now who's a whiny bitch.' Marko stuck his tongue out at him.

'Don't make me turn this bike around, kiss and makeup or no food tonight.' Michael chuckled softly.

'Yes, mom.' Paul grinned, blowing him a kiss.

They fed on a couple from the Midwest, older than their usual meals but enough to go around. David was worried, although he wasn't about to let on to the others, that Seth's master might decide to pay them a visit himself. Obviously this other vamp was either afraid of or respected Max enough not to invade his territory. Something was coming and he wasn't sure if they were ready for it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's not as long as I would have liked, I'm debating what's going to happen next, whether I want to play with some hunters first or the invading vampires.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which David gets punched and Edgar has a big mouth.

-Michael-

 

It had been a month since he’d seen his brother, content to stay with the other vampires and enjoy the night doing whatever they wanted. He felt he was due to visit Sam and his mom, even though he knew he was going to get an earful about not coming for dinner once a week. He glanced over at David and the others from his place lounging on the couch. David had been very possessive since Seth came to visit, he wanted all of his boys in one place, didn’t want to let any of them out of his sight. He wasn’t sure how he was going to get their leader to let him go. A sigh escaped his lips, it was now or never.

He got to his feet, moving over to stand in front of David, looking down at him, “I need to go visit Sam.”

David narrowed his eyes up at him, “Really? Why?”

He took a deep breath, “Because I haven’t seen him in over a month and if my mom spots us on the boardwalk I’ll never hear the end of it.”

David was silent as he thought about whether or not he was actually going to let him go. Of course he was happy to let Michael sit and stew, “One hour.” He stated calmly, resting his chin on his fist, “One hour to go hang out with your little bro, then you come back.”

He nodded, “Thanks.” He headed out the opening and into the night. Sam was sitting on the porch, head bowed, staring at his feet as he rocked back and forth on the swing. Michael scowled as he got off his bike and headed toward him, “Sam, what’s up?”

“Go ‘way, Mike.” He mumbled, not moving from his position on the swing.

He stepped up the stairs, sitting beside him, “Not going away until you tell me what’s up.”

“What do you care? Your buddies threatened to throw us off a cliff and you didn’t do anything.” He didn’t turn to face him, continuing to stare at the ground.

“I care, I worry about you, I’m just…” He sighed, tipping his head back, closing his eyes, “I’m bound to them, deeper than family, deeper than you and mom. It’s in my blood. I’m going to try to come visit more. There’s just something going on and David won’t let anyone go anywhere on their own.” Sam tipped his head, glaring at him, and showing a black eye, “Sam, what the hell?! Why didn’t you come find me? Why didn’t you tell me someone was beating you up?!”

“Because you were gonna let them toss us off a cliff! What David said, about how you wouldn’t stop him, was that true?”

He looked away, didn’t want to admit that he would have, “That doesn’t matter, what does is that someone’s picking on you, who is it?”

“How the hell doesn’t that matter? You were gonna let them kill me but get all pissy when you find out someone hit me? Screw you, Michael.”

A soft growl escaped his lips, “I’m not gonna let anyone kill you and I’m not gonna let someone beat you up. Tell me who it is.” He was pissed, no one had the right to beat up his brother, he was going to teach them a lesson.

He let out a snort, “Yeah, right.”

He snarled, lips curled back to show his teeth, eyes flashing gold as he looked at his brother. Sam swallowed hard, looking down at his lap, “I’m not gonna hurt you, I need to know who did this.” He reached out, gently running his thumb over the bruise.

He could feel Sam’s thoughts, about how this was so familiar, how this was just like it was back in Phoenix, “Alex Ryder, stupid captain of the football team.” Sam mumbled softly.

“Does mom know?”

Sam shook his head, “No, and I’m not gonna tell her, neither are you. I told her I smacked into a table.”

He let out a snort, “Think she really believed you? Will he be there after school tomorrow?” When Sam nodded he continued, “Good, I’ll pick you up.”

His brother shook his head, “You don’t have to.”

“Yes, I do. I’ll see you tomorrow.” He got to his feet, too wound up and angry to stay, he knew his eyes were still gold as he stepped off the porch, hearing the sound of his mom’s car as he headed for his bike. He met her eyes for a brief moment as she pulled up before hopping on his bike and tearing out of there, he didn’t want to face her. Not only that but his hour was just about up, he needed to get back. He was still angry when he stepped inside, his eyes still gold, “I need to pick up Sam tomorrow.” He said, striding forward to sprawl on the couch.

“So angry, Michael, did your mommy find out you’re not her little boy anymore?” Paul grinned at him from the fountain where he was petting Thorn.

He growled softly, “Someone’s been picking on Sam, I want to teach him a lesson he’ll never forget.”

Thorn licked Paul’s hand before trotting over to Michael and bumping his hand, looking up at him. Feeling the fur beneath his fingers made him smile and start to relax. The dog was a calming influence, making him relax. He was still angry but Thorn licked his hand, nuzzling into it and it made him relax further.

“We all go.” David decreed and the room fell silent, everyone relaxing.

 

-David-

 

They pulled up outside of the school, their bikes coming to a stop just in front of the flagpole out front. David would let Michael handle this, at least to start, but he had plans of his own with regards to the little bully. Michael was off his bike first, moving forward to lean against the flag pole to wait for his brother to come out. It didn’t take long for Sam to come running out and a young man in a letterman’s jacket and three others were close behind him. Michael pushed off the pole and took a few steps forward.

“Sam.” He stated, looking past him at the young man.

He was thankful Sam was a quick little bastard, the blonde running over to him, “Michael.” He swallowed hard, spotting David and the others by their bikes, “What’re they doin’ here?”

“I think David’s a little offended.” He looked at Alex, the teen staring at Michael defiantly, “Hello, Alex, I hear you gave my little brother here a black eye.”

The teen snorted through his nose, crossing his arms over his chest, "So what if I did? What're you gonna do about it?"

Michael's smile was dark, cruel, and David loved to see him like that, "I was thinking I'd give you one in return but I'm not sure that's going to make an impression." He paused for a moment, staring into Alex's too green eyes, "I can't see it making the impact that I want so I have something else in mind." He glanced back at the boys and the teen's eyes followed, settling on David at the front of the pack.

Alex swallowed audibly, "No way is some pansy ass one of the Lost Boys." He was brave, Michael had to give him that.

"What are they here for?" He questioned, turning his gaze back to Alex, "If they didn't come with me, if I'm not one of them, what reason would they have to come here?"

David chuckled, now it was his turn. He shoved his hands in his pockets before strolling over to the small group, "Hello, boys." He grinned, showing his teeth, "They giving you trouble, Sammy?"

Sam looked shocked that David was actually talking to him, "Y-yeah."

David shook his head, looking disappointed, "Kids these days, I mean, what're you gonna do?" He slung an arm around Michael's shoulders, "He back talking you, Michael?"

"Oh, yes, says I'm not a Lost Boy and called me a pansy ass. I was thinking about giving him a black eye to match Sam's but now I'm not so sure. What do you think, David?"

Really? The kid said Michael wasn't one of them, he couldn't wrap his mind around it. Michael had been with them for months, there was no way anyone could doubt that Michael was theirs. The kid needed something more than a black eye, not just for Sam, although he didn't care much about the kid, but for Michael.

"I think that he needs to take a little trip up the flag pole." He stated, looking up before looking at Alex, "And that's only the beginning." To hand out a proper punishment was going to take multiple nights but the flag pole would be a good start, 'Get ready boys, I think we've got a runner.'

He was wrong, the human swung, hitting David across the face, "Fuck you, asshole!"

He went to swing again but David's hand lashed out, wrapping around his wrist tightly. Everyone was deathly silent as David stared into his eyes. Oh, he would pay dearly, he had no idea someone could be so stupid.

"How long have you been in town, Alex?" His voice was calm and flat. Alex's buddies were giving each other worried looks, it seemed they knew better even if their friend didn't.

When Alex didn't answer buddy #1 spoke up, "Two years."

Alex glared at him, "Shut up, Tom."

"Two years." He chuckled softly, not letting go of his wrist. Paul, Dwayne, and Marko were heading toward them, taking their places behind David, next to Michael and Sam, "In two years you must have heard of us, you knew what we're called, so why would you think it was a good idea to hit me?"

"Shit, Michael, is he gonna kill 'em?" Sam hissed, eyes wide in fear.

Michael glanced at David before shaking his head, "No, not right now at least."

"They're stupid stories to keep kids from being bad." Alex rolled his eyes, tying to jerk his hand away but was held fast, "Let go." He tugged again and David squeezed harder, wringing a hiss from his lips.

"What do they say? If you start drinking and doing drugs you're gonna wind up like them? Or maybe, don't break curfew or the Lost Boys will get you and you'll never be seen again? That one's my favorite." He increased the pressure on his wrist, grinning as he let out a yelp of pain, "That last one's probably the most truthful out of all the stories. You might want to avoid going out at night for awhile, if you're scared." The bones were close to breaking, it would only take a little twist and his arm would snap, "Keep your hands off Sam Emerson, we clear?" Alex nodded, still glaring at him, "Good, I won't break your arm. Don't think this is over, this is just the beginning." He let him go, pushing him away, before turning to Michael and Sam, "You're under my protection now but only because of Michael, don't do anything stupid or I will drop you and your little friends off a cliff."

"Yeah, yeah, I get it." He paused, "Umm, thanks." He watched as Alex and his goons rushed off, "I need to get going, mom's probably getting ready to send out a search part.

"I promised you a ride." Michael stated firmly, heading over and getting on his bike.

Sam hesitantly climbed on behind him, "Don't kill me." He put his hands on his shoulders, clinging tightly as the bike roared to life.

"Oh, come on, Sammy. Like I would kill you." He let out a snort, taking off out of the parking lot.

 

-Edgar-

 

He couldn't help but think Serena, the new girl, was hot. She was blonde, cheerleader material, but she had been nice to Alex, Sam, and him. They were the outcasts at school, didn't really fit in anywhere, so having a hot girl smile and actually talk to them, it was like a dream come true.

It was lunch time and the three friends were sitting at their usual table when she came and sat down with them. They all froze, looking at her with a mixture of shock and fear but it was Sam who finally spoke, "Hi, Serena, umm, what's up?"

She smiled at him, "So, I heard a rumor about this gang that hangs out on the boardwalk. I thought, since you guys seem to know everything that goes on here, better than anyone else, that you might know about them. Alex Ryder was saying he punched one of them but Rachel said they were scary and kidnapped people. I figured you guys might know the real story."

"Yeah, Sam's big bro hangs out with them." Edgar smiled at her, feeling a little stupid, "They're bloodsuckers." He swallowed hard, couldn't believe he had said that to the hottest girl in school.

She laughed, "What, like vampires?" She looked at Sam, "And your brother hangs out with them? What, do they like feed from him or something?"

Sam shook his head, "No, he's one of them."

She went silent for a moment, looking between them before whispering softly, "I believe you."

Edgar looked at his brother, shock written across his face, before looking at her, "You serious? You believe that Santa Carla has an infestation of the walking dead?" She nodded, "Why?"

"Because I've seen them before, where I used to live." She paused, licking her lips, "It's kind of why my dad drug me here, because of the vampires."

Sam looked scared and Edgar couldn't blame him, he would like to think he'd stake his brother but he wasn't really sure if he could, "I'm not gonna let you stake my brother." Sam said firmly, "I don't care if your dad came here to off 'em."

"Easy, it's ok, Sam, he just wants to talk to them."

He let out a snort, "Yeah, sure, I believe you."

"Maybe you could, arrange a meeting or something?"

He shook his head, "No way."

"Michael sometimes picks him up from school." The words were out of Edgar's mouth before he could stop them. Sam glared at him, he really needed to stop thinking with his dick.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the boys deal with some bullies and David learns about the new girl.

-Michael-

 

Marko and Paul were planning what they wanted to do to Alex. So far they hadn't come up with anything that didn't cause mutilation or death. Dwayne was absently tossing a ball for Thorn and David was sitting in his chair thinking. He’d been doing that a lot lately, had become quiet, wasn’t himself at all. The thoughts that he could pick up, and only when David wasn't shielding himself, worried him. He was thinking about hunters, about other vampires, and the trouble they could cause. Michael decided he needed to do something to get David's mind off such morbid thoughts.

"David!" He headed over to him, standing in front of him and looking down, "Let's go to the boardwalk. You need to get out and have some fun, you're just sitting here moping."

He glared up at him, "I don't mope."

"That's bullshit, you've been thinking too much since that stupid vampire showed up, we need to get out of here for awhile, have some fun. So get off your ass and let's go."

Marko grinned, "We can go play with that guy who hit you."

David growled softly, "Fine, let's go." He got up, heading outside into the night.

They reached the boardwalk without incident and Michael was pleased to see Alex Ryder and his buddies were there. They hadn't taken David's advice and stayed inside at night. This would be good for their leader, get his mind back where it belonged, on their pack and on doing whatever they wanted.

"There's the guy that hit you." He grinned at him, motioning toward the teen at a hot dog stand.

David's grin was feral, "Follow my lead." He strolled toward them, "Alex, long time no see." He slung an arm around his shoulders, "Let's take a little walk, I wanna show you something."

His eyes were wide in fear as David guided him away, heading for the beach, "Don't hurt me." He hissed softly, body tense under David's arm.

"Oh, poor baby, you scared?" He patted his shoulder, "I just wanna show you something." He pulled him onto the sand, the others were close behind, laughing and shoving each other as they pushed Alex's companions ahead of them.

"You see that big rock out there?" He pointed at a rock out in the water, part of it hanging over the ocean, creating a small cliff, "We're gonna take a little trip out there, you'll like the view.”

There was a small path made of rocks leading out to it, when they tide was low they were revealed and crossing was easy. Luckily now was one of those times. David made the three boys go first, it wouldn’t do for their victims to run off after all. Getting to the top of the rock was easy, although the rocks were a little slick there was a clear path up. Michael could smell the fear coming off the three humans and it made his head spin, he felt giddy, like he had just taken a hit off one of Paul’s joints. He couldn’t help but grin as they got to the top, the humans pushed to the edge.

“See, a long time ago I took the liberty of installing a couple hooks.” David grinned, “And you’re going to hang from them.” He grabbed Alex, holding him over the edge of the cliff, “It’s a long way down, so don’t struggle.” It didn’t take long for David to attach him to one of the hooks, putting a hole in his jeans so he could hang him, “I got a couple more,” he smirked at the other two, “wanna hang with your friend?”

They whimpered softly as Alex started yelling, “No, no we’re good.” Minion #1 said, holding his hands up in surrender.

“Aww, I wanted to hang one up!” Marko grinned, licking his lips, “Come on, David, let me hang one of ‘em.”

Their leader looked thoughtful, holding a finger to his lips and looking up at the night sky, “Alright Marko, string ‘em up!”

There was a small scuffle as one of them tried to run past them only to be grabbed by Michael, while Marko snagged the other and hung him to another hook, “How many hooks are there?” Michael asked, keeping a hold on the struggling human.

“Five? Yeah, five, want to put him down there too?” David smiled, showing his teeth, “Go ahead, Michael, do the honors.”

It took a little finagling to get him onto the hook, he didn't make it easy, kept struggling, but finally he was hanging next to his friends, "That wasn't so hard, now was it?" He looked down at the whimpering teens, "You boys have a nice night!"

The vampires followed the path back, leaving them hanging there until someone found them, probably in the morning, they would have a fun night hanging there, unless they fell. The fall might not kill them but the ocean might.

 

-David-

 

Michael's little brother wouldn't stop staring at him. He looked nervous, not that he could blame him, as his little friends came up to him, a young woman with them. She was cute, little young for his taste, but maybe if she had few years on her she'd be good bait. He eyed them, something was going on and he wasn't sure he was going to like it. The others had gone off to play in the crowd for a little bit while he kept an eye out for dinner. It had been a few nights since they'd had a good meal and they were all hungry, especially Michael who still really should be feeding nightly. Maybe he should have been paying more attention, but this was his turf and he didn't expect someone to be stupid enough to take him on. The girl moved toward him with purpose, the three boys trailing behind like lost puppies. What he should have been prepared for was the fact that there were hunters in his city, hunters aside from the boys behind her.

He looked down at them, leaning against his bike, "What's up, Sammy?" He smirked, ignoring the girl for the moment.

"Umm, David, this is Serena." He seemed nervous and it put him on edge.

He looked at the girl, "And I should care, why?"

"I wanted to talk to the bloodsucker that thinks he runs this town." She crossed her arms over her chest, glaring up at him.

It took a moment for her words to make an impact and when they did he burst out laughing, "Really? Bloodsucker? Is that the best you've got? You've got guts girl, I'll give you that, but you're an idiot. What makes you think I would want to talk to you?"

"Because my father is going to kill you."

Speechless twice in one night, it was some kind of record, "Oh? Really? What would he do if I took his little girl? If I made her feed, submit, what would daddy do?" He hissed, eyes narrowed, "You'd better tell me what you really want before I lose my patience." She swallowed hard, was no realizing the situation she was in, and she was scared, "Speak up!"

She jumped, gasping softly. The boys behind her were petrified, had no idea what he was going to do and they didn't want him to carry through on his previous threat, he hadn't lied, he was more than happy to toss them off a cliff.

"I-I..."

He grinned, "Where's all that bravado? Scared now, little girl?"

She swallowed hard again, her hands clenching into fists, trying to regain her composure, "I wanted to make a deal with you."

A scowl flitted across his face, "A deal? What kind of deal?"

"You let me and my family live and I'll make sure they don't come after you. I've heard stories, about this city, we're hunters but I don't want us to be another notch on your belt. You've killed hunters before."

David smirked, "If I killed you, how many could I add to my tally?" He paused briefly, "Answer honestly."

"Six." She looked down at the boardwalk, "They're six of us."

His boys were coming back, sliding through the crowd toward them, moving behind the humans, 'Quiet, give them a good scare, especially the girl. She's a hunter.' He crossed his arms over his chest, "Give me a good reason."

Michael clapped a hand over Sam's mouth while Marko and Paul did the same to the Frog's. Dwayne's clawed fingers slid over Serena's shoulders wringing a cry from her lips. She tensed beneath his fingers, looking up at David's smug smile.

"Welcome back boys, look what I found? Four wannabe hunters."

Dwayne looked down at her, "This little thing wants to be a hunter? Do you want us to just fall on a stake for you? Sorry, girly, not gonna happen." He paused, "Do you know what we do to hunters?"

Edgar whimpered from behind him, Paul letting go of his mouth, "Throw them off cliffs?"

"This one gets it!" Paul grinned, patting him on the head.

David looked thoughtful, "Who hired your family, girl?"

She scowled, "What?" She was shaking under Dwayne's grasp.

"Pretty sure you heard me, someone hired your family, there's no other reason you would be trying to make a deal with me."

She looked away, whimpering when Dwayne's claws threatened to dig in, "I-I don't know! Dad didn't tell me!"

"The only way you're getting any kind of deal with me is if you find out from daddy who hired him. You find that out and we can talk about a deal." He looked at all of them, "Boys, let's go, dinner's calling." He stared at Serena, "Careful, girly, you screw up and you'll be taking a crash course in flying." He mounted his bike, they would have to hunt in another city tonight, especially with hunters running around his city.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I was gonna wait until I had more written but decided, nah, I'll post now since I'm working mostly days this week and haven't had a chance to write much. Next chapter will be some backstory and maybe some play time with a few hunters.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the boys make a deal and the bully's fate is discovered.

-Michael-

 

Sam was afraid of him. He could see it in his eyes when they were on the boardwalk. For some reason that filled him with a kind of sick glee, knowing he was feared by humans, but that last shred of humanity was mortified that it was his own brother who feared him. They fed in the neighboring town and he was still hungry. He knew he needed to feed more often and one look at David told him that he thought so too. Their leader was on edge, the meeting with Sam's little friend had all of them nervous. There were hunters in Santa Carla and they weren't the kind that they could control, not like Edgar, Alan, and Sam. These were outsiders and although it sounded like David had taken out hunters before Michael wasn't looking forward to the coming conflict.

"How's that girl gonna get ahold of us?" He stared up at the ceiling, tossing a tennis ball into the air before catching it, "If she suddenly does manage to figure it out, she's gotta be able to tell us what she knows, right?"

"I already know who hired them, I just want proof before I off them." David slid his fingers absently along the arms of his chair.

They all looked over at him, "What, who?" Paul scowled.

"That vamp's master, what was his name, Seth? Yeah, his master. Pretty sure he's the one that hired hunters, it's what Ryan did to Max. Dwayne, you remember that, right? Like 200 years ago, that vamp who wanted to take over. Can avoid getting your hands dirty and take over prime real estate."

Dwayne nodded, "Yeah, almost offed Max." He grinned, showing his teeth, "That hunter, Carlos, he was fun."

Marko looked uncomfortable with the talk of hunters. Michael scowled, "What's up?"

"Marko doesn't like hunters, his daddy was one, tried to kill him when I turned him." David smirked, "Was Marko's first kill." The vampire in question got to his feet and stormed outside, the others watching him go, "He hates when we talk about it, he'll cool off." He paused for a moment, "We all have history." He shrugged, "Tomorrow night we'll head to the boardwalk, see if the girl found anything, if she didn't, well, we might get to do our own hunting."

Michael slept that day pressed close against David's chest. He liked feeling his mate close to him, smelling him before going to sleep. None of the others slept against each other, they were all close but David and Michael were closer. When he woke up at nightfall he could still feel David against him, usually the other vampire was already up, planning for the night, but not tonight.

Michael leaned further into his chest, giving his throat a soft lick, "Evening."

A soft growl rumbled through his mate as clawed fingers gently ran through his hair, "Mmm, evening, Michael, ready to see if she managed to weasel information out of her daddy?"

He nodded, "Maybe find dinner too?" He hated that he was hungry when the others could go days without eating.

"Yeah, dinner and a show."

 

-Alex-

 

Alex Ryder couldn't stop shaking. He and his friends had hung from those hooks all night. He could remember the feel of icy salt water as it splashed against the rocks and the sight of sharks circling below him. There was no way sharks should have been circling below him, especially with how close they were to shore, but he knew they were there. Maybe it had been that guy's parting words, he could have sworn he heard the blonde one say something about sharks, that they were down there. He could remember the laughter at his sobs, he could try to deny it all he wanted but he knew he cried and begged the surf nazi's on the shore to save him, to let him down. In the end it had been a little old lady walking her dog on the beach in the early morning that had called the cops to get them down. Now he was huddled in a blanket, shaking, in the police station waiting for his mom to come pick him up. They had asked him what happened, why they were hanging out here, but he couldn't make his mouth work, couldn't tell them that the Lost Boys had hung them out there and left them.

"Alex! What happened, why were you hanging out there?" His mom pulled him close, stroked her fingers through his hair. He whimpered softly, "You're shaking, honey, you can tell me what happened."

"T-They did it." He whimpered lowly, "They hung us out there, all my fault, stories were true." He mumbled.

She scowled, looking at the officers for an explanation, "Who, honey, who did?"

He cried softly and clung to her, buried his face in her shoulder. She stroked through his hair, at a total loss, "Did he tell you anything? Does any of this make sense?" She asked the officer who had been watching him while they waited for her to get there.

"How long have you been here?"

"Two years, why, what does that have to do with anything?"

"You've heard the stories, right? About the boys on the boardwalk?" He whispered, looking around, not wanting anyone to really know he was talking about them. You just didn't talk about the Lost Boys out in the open. She looked confused and he sighed, "You've seen them, four of 'em with bikes on the boardwalk..." He went to continue but was cut off by Alex.

"Five, five, there's five, five on the boardwalk." He mumbled, fingers clinging to the blanket.

The officer scowled, "Always been four but alright, five guys on the boardwalk. They've been here forever, you don't mess with them, people who do tend to disappear." He glanced over at Alex, "If it was them, you got off lucky. You don't go against them, just leave them alone and they'll leave you alone." He paused, "No one told you any of this when you moved here? At work, school, nothing?" He sighed, "There's only one rule in Santa Carla, one rule to keep yourself safe, leave the Lost Boys alone."

Another whimper escaped Alex's lips at the mention of their name, "I'll be good, promise." He whimpered, "Will be good."

 

-David-

 

He sat on the edge of the wall separating the boardwalk from the beach, one leg dangling and the other up, his chin resting on his knee as he watched the waves roll in. Michael was sitting silently next to him while the other boys were sprawled out in the sand below them. It had been a quiet night so far, the hunt for Michael's meal had been easy, and they had told Sam and his little friends where to find them if Serena showed up. For the moment David was content to relax and wait and plot, oh, he was definitely plotting everything he wanted to do to the hunters. 200 years ago when Max had almost been taken out by that hunter was the last time they had gotten to really go all out and mess with someone. Sure, the fun with Michael and the Chinese food was all well and good, but it was minor in comparison to what they did with people they were planning on killing. A big part of him was hoping she didn't come through, he was a man of his word after all, not that he had actually told her he would take the deal, only that they would talk about one. Now there was an idea, what kind of deal would he make with her? That she would go first? He'd make it relatively painless? That would take the fun out of it but he would have five others to mess with, could give one each to the boys. They could think of it like a gift for a job well done. Michael poked him in the side pulling him out of his thoughts.

The blonde glared at him, letting out a soft grunt, "What?"

"I've been trying to talk to you for the last ten minutes, where'd you go?"

"Was thinkin' about what I wanted to do to the hunters, debating what kind of deal I would make with the girl if she comes through."

"And? What did you decide?"

"I haven't, that's the problem, no idea what I'm gonna do. I'd like to just off them all, less hunters in the world and they were stupid enough to take the job, but at the same time it could be useful."

Michael snorted, "Or a liability. What, they're hunters, you think they're not going to off us if they have a chance? Alan and Edgar would kill us off if given half a chance, these guys are professionals, they'd kill us if they could, if they weren't afraid of being tossed off a cliff."

"You've got a hand in it too, Michael. They like your little brother and since he likes you, well, they don't want to off you." David chuckled softly, "What would you do? Be creative, if you had a bunch of hunters at your mercy, what would you do?"

He tipped h head back, staring at the sky, "I dunno, probably kill them, protect my pack. Do whatever it takes to make sure they couldn't take anyone from me."

He nodded, looking thoughtful, "Hey, Dwayne, what would you do with a bunch of hunters?"

"Make them recite poetry while I cut them open." He tipped his head to look at them from his place on the sand, "Maybe slowly bleed one of them, see how all that self righteousness tastes."

"What about you, Marko?"

"Kill 'em quick." He mumbled, proving himself up to look out at the ocean, "Leave 'em alive too long and they attack. Gotta kill them before they kill us."

Paul rolled his eyes, "I'm with Dwayne, draw it out." He took a hit off his joint before offering it to Marko.

Marko snatched it out of his hand, taking a long drag, "You do remember I was raised by hunters, right? I know how they work and the minute they have a chance they'll take you out, even if they have to off themselves to do it." He took another hit before offering it back.

Michael traced designs in the sand on the ledge, "I think Marko's right, if they've killed one of us before they can do it again. We can't be stupid about this." He paused for a moment, "If she can't find out, won't tell us, then we can get it out of them however necessary."

David patted him on the back, "Good plan." He smirked at Dwayne and Paul, "Everyone wins, well, except them." Someone was coming up behind them, he could hear hesitant footsteps on the sidewalk, female, probably the girl, "Why, if it isn't our little hunter, come to regale us with a story?"

She froze, her heart pounding in her chest, "Deal first." She stated firmly, "We deal and I tell you, that's the way it works."

"Come down onto the beach, I want to see the girl I'm making a deal with. Face to face." He grinned without looking at her. Slowly she slid over the wall, hopping down onto the sand to look up at David and Michael, "See, isn't that better? So, let's make a deal, you know who hired your family and I hold the keys to your continued life." He spread his hands out in front of himself, "I don't sense much equality in this, your lives have got to be worth more than just one paltry piece of information. What all are you willing to give me? I want more than just a name for six meals."

Michael scowled slightly, 'What're you after?'

'I want to see what she's gonna offer.' He raised an eyebrow, "What do I get for missing out on six happy meals when I could torture any one of them to find out the name and still get enough food for each of us to get a whole one to ourselves?"

There was fear and panic in her eyes but she held her ground as five pairs of eyes trained on her, waiting for a response, "W-We, we will put the word out that Santa Carla is to be left alone, keep other hunters out of your territory."

David could see the benefit in that, enough hunters come around and one day you're bound to screw up. All eyes turned to David, the girl getting more and more nervous with each passing moment, "What do you think, boys?" He would take the deal but only after playing with her for awhile.

"Well, I am hungry..." Michael trailed off, head cocked slightly to the side.

"I dunno, she wouldn't be much of a meal." Paul leered at her, "But there are other things we could do with her."

She looked panicked, eyes wide with fear as she waited for their decision. Dwayne spoke up next, "I say we take the deal, we can always find them again later."

David nodded, "Alright, girl, you've got a deal. Now, what's the name?"

"Dominique Lyons."

He knew that name, was a young upstart who offed his sire to take over his territory. Now he wanted to take over theirs as well, David wasn't about to let that happen, "Get going girl, before I decide to eat you anyway and make sure to take the rest of your little band with you." She was quick to run, once she was long gone he turned back to his pack, "We've got a name, let's celebrate, I thought I saw some teenagers heading down the beach." He turned to Michael, "You did say you were hungry." His grin was wide as he hopped off the wall and started walking.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have two more things I want to happen before this is over but I haven't figured out how to do it yet. Lucy has to find out what happened to Michael and they have to deal with the rival vampire. Please let me know what you think! I'm back to working days now so it's going to be slow going. I had more energy to write when I was closing but still going!


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which a year has passed and Lucy finds out the truth.

-Lucy-

 

It had been over a year since she had seen Michael. Well, she had seen him, caught glimpses of him with his friends, but he hadn't come to dinner or even stopped in to see her. When she asked Sam about him he would go quiet and then there were the rumors floating around. Teenagers talking in hushed whispers about what happened to Alex and his friends. She couldn't believe that Michael was part of hanging three teenagers off a rock out in the ocean. There were other stories, some more worrying than others; the worst were the ones about the gang of five burning bodies on the beach. She needed to know the truth, needed to know what had happened to her eldest son and why her youngest was so tight lipped about him. Tonight was the night, she was going to find and confront Michael, find out the truth.

 

-Michael-

 

It had been over a year since he had visited his mom and six months since he hung out with Sam. As the days went by he found himself drifting further and further away from his human family, from humans in general. It was hard to look at them and see anything except food. There were still some lingering feelings for his family but as time passed even those were beginning to fade. After the whole situation with the hunters they had been left alone, Dominique Lyons hadn't sent anyone else after them and hadn't come himself, but his attempted takeover of their territory was still in the back of their minds. More stories of the boys had spread through Santa Carla thanks to Alex Ryder and his band of bullies. They were five instead of four in the stories now and even old tales had changed to five. Michael felt like he had always been here, trapped in time with the boys, and terrorizing the boardwalk.

A grin split his face as he ducked a punch from one of surf nazis. That was one thing he couldn't ever see changing, a rival gang in town made things fun, and public fights on the boardwalk hammered home their superiority. The other boys stood to the side watching, Marko practically bouncing with the desire to join in but this was Michael's duel. He may have insulted the young man, may have broken his board too, but was that really so bad? Michael returned with a punch of his own, grazing his jaw, he wanted to draw this out, it was more fun that way.

There was a crowd forming around them, creating a ring for them to fight in. It wouldn't be too long before the guard tried to get involved, well, if he did. This one was smarter than the last two and tended to leave the boys alone but an open brawl was another animal entirely.

The cheers were interrupted by a gasp and his mother's voice, "Michael!"

He froze and the surf nazi's fist hit him across the face. He snarled and struck back, laying him out flat before turning to see his mother standing on the edge of the ring. She looked so disappointed and he felt his dead heart clench. She pushed forward, capturing his face in her hands, looking into his eyes before blinking and scowling.

"Michael, what were you doing? What's happened to you?" Her thumbs slid under his eyes, "Your eyes..."

He pulled his face away, "I'm fine. We're not going to talk about this here." He glanced at the boys, 'Shit.'

'Gonna tell her the truth, Michael?' David raised an eyebrow.

'I dunno what to do.' He trapped her wrists, pulling her hands down before leading the way down to the beach. It would be quiet there and they could talk.

"Where have you been? What's happened to you? Michael, what's wrong? Please, talk to me. I've been worried about you. I haven't seen you in over a year and when I finally find you you're fighting. I've heard stories, about you hanging up teenagers on rocks, that you and your friends are responsible for disappearances and murders. Everyone is afraid of you."

He bowed his head for a moment, shaking his head slightly, "You won't believe me, if I tell you the truth, you're not going to believe me."

"Michael, tell me, I need to know what's going on. You've changed so much, you're fighting, are you even working? Where are you even living?"

He laughed softly, "I'm not living." He couldn't help but smile, "I'm a vampire, I eat people." He let his eyes flash gold, "The boys, they are too. We sleep all day, don't work, just go out at night, have fun, and eat people." She was frozen, eyes wide, her heart pounding in her chest, "Don't worry, I'm not gonna eat you or Sam. You're safe, most of the locals are safe unless they piss us off. I'm gonna live forever, long after you and Sam are gone I'll still be here." He grabbed a hand by the wrist, pressing it to his chest, "My heart doesn't beat, I don't have to breathe unless I wanna talk, I might as well be dead." She took a step back but he held her firmly, "Don't be afraid, I can smell your fear, hear it in the pounding of your heart."

She shook her head, "I can't believe this, I can't." She was shaking as her hand was kept pressed to his still chest.

"Max was a vampire too. He wanted you, wanted you to become like him, to play house with the boys and us as his little family." He shook his head, "Sam and the Frog brothers killed him, saved you, but it was already too late for me. David wanted me to be part of the pack and that's what happened. I made my kill, I became like them, and I can never go back." He let go of her wrist, "Mom, I still care about you, I love you, but I can't go back. I stay away to keep you safe. As long as I'm not around you'll be fine, you can live a normal life and Sam can grow up and go out on his own."

"Does," she swallowed hard, "does Sam know?" When he nodded she spoke again, "Why didn't you tell me? You're still my son, Michael."

He looked out over the ocean, "Because I knew it would hurt you. You would still demand I come over and visit and I would and then, one day, you might get hurt and someday you will die while I will never age. I'll always be the same. Do you think it's going to be easy for me to watch you die? It won't. It's easier just to let go."

She poked him in the chest, the look on her face stern and determined, "Now you listen here young man, stop thinking only of yourself. When I die I want you and Sam there, I want the last thing I see to be the two of you. I will not let you go, do you understand?"

A soft chuckle escaped his lips, "Yeah, I understand."

"Good. I expect you and your friends over for dinner tomorrow." He blinked, speechless, "And no arguing, you'll be there when the sun sets." She poked him in the chest again.

He nodded, "Alright, mom, we'll be there."

"Good." She quickly wrapped him in a hug, holding him tight, "I love you Michael, I always will."

"I love you too." His only thought as she turned and walked away was that David wasn't gonna like this at all.

 

-David-

 

It had been a year since Michael had seen his mommy. He rolled his eyes, of course she would track him down, find him, and now she knew. She knew what Michael was, what they were, and she wanted all of them to come over for dinner. Of course he agreed and made the others as well, but he wasn't happy about it. He had finally gotten Michael to himself so of course something would try to ruin it. Now they were standing outside of the very normal house and David wasn't looking forward to going inside. The last time they had dinner here it was to protect Lucy and Sam from Max, this time it had to reason other than Lucy wanting them there. With a deep sigh he headed for the door, knocking, the other boys needed an invite after all. Well, not really, but they wanted one.

Sam answered the door, glaring at them before stepping aside, his lips sealed, "Gonna invite us in, Sammy?" David grinned.

"No." His voice was flat, "Not gonna get an invite from me." He crossed his arms over his chest.

"Come in, boys!"

David grinned, of course Lucy would invite them. He ruffled sandy blonde hair as he stepped inside, the boys following after, each smirking at the human. Paul poked him in the middle of the forehead, snickering as he walked past. Michael sat at one end of the table and Lucy at the other. Star and Sam were on either side of Lucy while the others stayed near Michael, Paul settling beside Sam with Dwayne by Star. They sat in uncomfortable silence while the food was served.

Lucy was the first to speak, "You're vampires? All of you?" She directed this at the boys, taking a bite of mashed potatoes, "You must have seen a lot of things over the years."

Marko snorted, "No, really?" Michael kicked him under the table, "What was that for?"

David leaned back with a fried chicken leg in hand, content to just watch at the moment. Sam looked at him as if he should do something, "What? They can figure it out, they're big boys."

Michael glared at Marko, taking in a hiss of air when he was kicked in return, "Cut it out, asshole."

"Michael Emerson! You will not use that kind of language at this table." Lucy stated firmly before looking at a smug Marko, "And you, behave yourself, we are going to have a nice dinner and you're going to tell me about yourselves so I know what kind of people my son is involved with." She looked at David, "Now, David, where are you from?"

He raised an eyebrow, didn't really want to talk about his past, about where he came from, but he also knew she would keep after him until he answered, "Overseas, old world, whatever you wanna call it. Been a long time since I've been there and it'll be longer before I go back. Was a vampire before I came here and found Dwayne."

She looked at Dwayne since David had successfully passed the buck, "What about you, Dwayne?"

"The west, Arizona, Mexico, around there."

Paul was making a mountain of his potatoes, "Marko and me are from New York."

"Marko and I." The correction was automatic for Lucy.

"Bet those aren't your real names." Sam glowered at David.

The leader glared back, "Doesn't matter if they are or not, it's what we're called now."

"I bet they could help you with your history report." Lucy smiled at her youngest, patting his hand.

Sam snorted, "Yeah, if I wanna fail I'll ask them about the Civil War."

David leaned forward, pointing at him with his chicken leg, "Ya know, war is fun, so easy to get a good meal." He paused, "Easy pickings. Now they actually care when people are offed." He leaned back again.

Michael shook his head, "I'm sure David would help if you asked." He glared at his mate, 'You would, right?'

David smirked at him chuckling softly, "You'd have to ask really, really nicely."

"Yeah, still not gonna ask." Sam grumbled, eating his chicken.

Dinner finished with apple pie for desert and a promise from Michael to come visit once and awhile. David led the way back, happy to be out of there. He settled into his usual spot, tipping his head back before rocking back and forth slightly.

"One wasted night but tomorrow is a new day," he chuckled softly, "and I think I know just what we're gonna do." He grinned at Michael, "We're gonna have so much fun."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the end! I've started on another one though. It'll take place three years after the end of the movie. I just love torturing poor Michael. Anyway! Let me know what you think!


End file.
